› added 7 years ago

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People who have a lot of papillae—the bumps on our tongue, most of which house our taste buds—often find flavors overwhelming. They’re “supertasters,” and as such they add cream to their coffee and order food mild instead of spicy. Subtasters, on the other hand, have low papillae density and prefer their chicken wings “atomic.”

a887A TIL that sloths have algae, fungi, moths and insects growing in their hair. Some of the fungal strains are showing uses in treatment for malaria, chagas disease and even breast cancer.
AAQw TIL it is still legal to kill Scots in the English city of York, as long as they are carrying a bow and an arrow
ba4N TIL: Chicago, “The Windy City”, got that nickname not because of its weather, but because of its politicians bragging about the city to win the 1893 World’s Fair. Its average wind speed of 10.3 mph is not even exceptional relative to other American cities: Boston- 12.4mph, and NYC- 9.3mph.
gkOD TIL a New Jersey politician was indicted for accepting $360,000 in bribes. The politician went so far to avoid his conviction that he faked his own death by friends saying he swallowed pain pills before a scuba dive and ‘never resurfaced’. He was found 2 years later and arrested while scuba diving.
E1aEo TIL that the cottage where Ulysses Grant finished his memoirs is now an historic monument and is kept how it was when he died. On his desk is a large bottle of liquid cocaine. Park rangers check it annually to make sure it is all there.