› added 11 years ago

510

TIL that the Black Mamba snake, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world, contains pain-relieving compounds called mambalgins which could be a better painkiller (and with less side effects) than morphine.

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

d84nB TIL MI6 thought a report submitted by a false agent regarding the Iraqi Chemical Weapons Program was legitimate, until they realized it bore a striking resemblance to aspects of the movie "The Rock"
EoKd TIL, Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing. The deceleration is occurring at about 17 milliseconds per 100 years. This will have the effect of lengthening our days, but it’s happening so slowly that it could be as much as 140 million years before the length of a day will have increased to 25 hours.
mxRev TIL Lynchburg, TN isn't named after lynchings, but after Lynchburg, VA. Lynchburg, VA was named after founder John Lynch. John's brother was a man called Charles Lynch, a militiaman and quaker who extra-judiciously lynched Loyalists and is considered to be the namesake of the term lynching.
PYOlJ TIL When President Jimmy Carter told a joke during a speech in a college in Japan it was greeted with uproarious laughter. When he asked why the joke had gotten such a response, the Japanese interpreter replied: “I told the audience, ‘President Carter told a funny story; everyone must laugh.’ ”
VMg88 TIL Charles Rigoulot, a French weightlifter, was jailed for hitting a Nazi guard, but broke out of his jail cell by bending the bars. He allowed other prisoners to escape as well.