› added 9 years ago

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TIL: For 25 years London, Ontario was the worlds serial killer capital. From 1959-84, as many as six serial killers were active in the city, whose population was only 200k at the time.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

9YdYp TIL: Tokyo subway stations installed blue LEDs, shown to improve mood, with hope of reducing suicides. It worked. Suicides at stations with blue lights dropped 84%, without corresponding increases stations without the lights. Note: blue light is good for mood, but bad for sleeping.
DQDOg TIL that Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band were so poor during the recording of Trout Mask Replica that they often had to resort to stealing to feed themselves, one time even getting arrested for doing so; they were bailed out by Frank Zappa.
9YGPm TIL American alligators live farther from the equator and are able to handle colder weather conditions better than all other crocodilians. They have adapted to freezing water by going into periods of brumation. The natural range of the American alligator extends as far north as North Carolina.
lob6A TIL - Failure to learn the Mayan Nixtamalization method of preparing corn (maize) lead to Pellagra epidemics in Europe, Africa, and southern USA. Nixtamalization frees the amino acid Niacin. Nixtamalized corn and beans is a complete protein diet and became the staple food in Central America.
4Xj7b TIL of Gonzalo Guerrero, a Spanish soldier shipwrecked in Mexico and taken captive by local Maya. By the time Cortés arrived, he had become a Maya war captain, was married to his Lord's daughter, and fathered the first Mestizo children. He led local Maya resistance until his death in 1532.