› added 12 years ago

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TIL that natural gas doesn’t actually have a smell - the ‘smell’ of a gas leak is actually mercaptan, which is added to warn people of leaking gas.

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69eJQ TIL that there are tonsils in the human brain. The cerebellar tonsils are structures on the underside of the cerebellum, at the back of the brain. Also, TIL 'flocculonodular' is an actual word for a particular lobe of the cerebellum.
loXpA TIL political prisoners in China are being executed "on demand" in order to provide organs to recipients. One estimate suggests approximately 65,000 have been executed for their organs between 2000 and 2008. Median wait time for a kidney transplant: Canada - 6 years, UK - 3 years, China - 1 week.
mxaxy TIL there is a company called Crowds on Demand you can use to hire actors to pose as fans, paparazzi, security guards, or protestors.
Yg7r TIL that Game of Thrones is filmed in the same studio the Titanic was built in, not the movie but the actual RMS Titanic.
waV6 TIL that J. Edgar Hoover falsely claimed that a woman who “couldn’t plan breakfast” had been criminal mastermind and gang leader, after she was killed in a shootout between her son and the FBI. Hoover’s version of her inspired Ma Beagle in DuckTales, and Ma Fratelli in The Goonies.