› added 10 years ago

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TIL A man thought to be in a vegetative state is able to tell scientists that he is not in pain. “We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activity shows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe he knows who and where he is.”

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kONQd TIL that Submarines and Space Stations burn special candles as a means to produce oxygen, which can be used as a backup if their electronic oxygen-producing systems fail.
QJaJE Today I Learned that Sega made a game called Toylet that’s installed above urinals in the Tokyo Metro.
wLNBY TIL in 559 BC a chinese prisoner was sentenced to death by being flown off the top of a large tower attached to a kite. He survived the flight, and claimed the record of the highest jump survived by a person in the process. He was later starved to death in prison.
e0VKJ TIL that the smell of the air after a storm is caused by Geosmin: A chemical released by dead soil bacteria. Humans are hyper sensitive to it, capable of detecting at a concentration of 5 parts per trillion. It's theorised in our evolutionary past this helped us seek out water.
Ewdp TIL Chris Columbus was originally set to direct National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation but dropped out after difficult meetings with star Chevy Chase. Instead Columbus made Home Alone; the highest grossing Christmas film of all time.