› added 10 years ago

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TIL that “chemical imbalance” as a cause of depression is overly simplified, and “researchers believe that — more important than levels of specific brain chemicals — nerve cell connections, nerve cell growth, and the functioning of nerve circuits have a major impact on depression.”

epDkJ TIL that Hermione was based on J.K. Rowling: the author loosely based the character on herself when she was 11 years old, and chose an otter as Hermione's patronus as it's her favourite animal. She also took the name from Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale and didn't want a popular name
5ZWQ TIL that India’s former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao spoke 17 languages - 8 foreign languages (English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Greek, Latin and Persian) and 9 Indian languages (Telugu, Hindi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu)
78D4P TIL the inventor of the snow globe, Erwin Perzy, stumbled on the idea while trying to find a way to amplify light in surgical rooms. He found that holding a bulb next to a water globe filled with reflective, white particles boosted the light. He later used the concept to make snow scene souvenirs.
pYZ7b TIL a four-year-old murder was solved when detectives noticed a gang member's tattoo that depicted the entire crime scene
NXE7Q TIL that NASA's Parker Solar Probe is the fastest object ever built. It is estimated to reach a top speed of 191 km/s (430,000 mph) in 2025, 0.064% the speed of light.