› added 7 months ago

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TIL that study that says men divorce their sick wives was retracted in 2015 for a major error that severely skewed its results ("no response" was classified as "getting divorced" for men). Men do not actually divorce their sick wives at a higher rate than women divorce sick husbands.

Read more retractionwatch.com

via reddit.com

6Ejdl TIL the Oxpecker not only eats ticks off of African wildlife (like elephants), it also drinks their blood and makes wounds even larger. Scientists now think the birds are actually parasites and NOT an example of mutualism, where both parties benefit.
e0ZvD TIL that India and Pakistan used to be a single country during the British rule, and their partition led to upto 2 million Hindu and Muslim deaths, and migration of 14 million people.
MeJGA TIL: Rabies Disease produces Hydrophobia ("fear of water"), since the ability to transmit the virus would decrease significantly if the infected individual could swallow saliva and water. Thus, attempts to drink or even suggestion of drinking can cause painful spasms in the throat.
peb8 TIL:Sophie Scholl was a German woman executed by the Nazis for distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets.Her last words were: “How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to offer themselves up individually for a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go.”
awR9o TIL That swearing emerges by age two and becomes adult-like by ages 11 or 12. By the time children enter school, they have a working vocabulary of 30-40 offensive words.