› added 6 years ago

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TIL about psychosocial dwarfism, a condition where a child can stop growing due to an extremely stressful environment. It can cause the body to completely stop growing but is generally temporary; regular growth will resume when the source of stress is removed.

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5YMak TIL: Texting behind the rule
GYpr4 TIL that dead ants produce chemical known as Oleic Acid that helps ants know their buddy is dead. If you put some of this acid on a living moving ant, not only all ants around will be convinced he is dead, but also that ant himself. And wont object against throwing himself into ants graveyard.
1aRbW TIL Zoroastrian funerals involve a ritual called sagdid (dog-sight). A dog was brought in before the body. If the dog stares steadily at the body, the person is still alive. If it doesn't look at the body, death is confirmed. This was useful in ensuring that a coma was not being mistaken for death.
JYOYv TIL Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi died eating mercury pills that were supposed to prolong his life. Afraid that news of his death would cause a revolt, his trusted advisors transported his body back to his palace among barrels of rotten fish, to mask the smell.
J1DDB TIL that in 1916 Jeannette Rankin became the first woman in Congress, representing Montana. She ran and won again in 1940, and no woman has represented Montana at a Federal level since.