› added 1 year ago

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TIL: 42% of Americans believe in ghosts and 18% believe they had a paranormal experience according a 2009 Pew Research. In recent years, there has been a rise in Queer Ghost Hunters across several states looking for queer ghosts to record the ghost's stories.

v8vL TIL Internet trolls are likely to be sadists, narcissists, or psychopaths, studies show. One of the studies found that the link between sadism and Internet trolling is so strong that trolls could be described as “prototypical everyday sadists.”
ADNWa The human brain looks like a big, pinkish-gray, wrinkly walnut. There are so many folds in it that, if it could be unfolded, it could be a small tablecloth. Pinkish-gray might not match your decor, but it would be about the right size! This "tablecloth" is made up of the cerebral cortex and is the wrinkly outside layer of your brain. All those folds are responsible for abstract thought, language, and memory. Scientists believe the wrinkles exist as a way to increase the surface area of the cortex, allowing for increased brainpower in a smaller space. In this week’s Today I Learned, neuroscientist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Steve Ramirez shares some of his smarts on how your cortex is different from your pet hamster’s.
QjAk TIL during the medieval period, after a wedding the bride and groom were provided enough mead (honey wine) to last one full moon, coining the term ‘honeymoon’.
yQrEe TIL that it can take up to 40 years after exposure to asbestos for any symptoms of an asbestos-related disease to manifest (mesothelioma etc). By this stage, it's often too late to do anything to reverse the effects of the disease.
WkyQN TIL of the Appalachian Christmas tradition of "sereneding" that involves shooting guns in the air until your neighbor feeds you.