› added 6 years ago

249

TIL that Turkey Vultures have been & sometimes are still used to detect natural gas leaks from pipelines; the odor that gas companies add to gas (so we can detect it since it's odorless) is the same as rotting flesh, which leads the vultures to congregate in the sky in the area of the leak.

Read more loe.org

via reddit.com

M8pb TIL that in the 70 years that PET plastic, the plastic which most water bottles are made from has existed, bacteria has already evolved to be able to eat it.
b97GZ TIL a riddle from 1688 goes. "If a man born blind can feel the differences between shapes such as spheres and cubes, could he, if given the ability, distinguish those objects by sight alone?" In 2003 the riddle was solved when five people had their sight restored though surgery. They could not.
m1M5x TIL two rival scientists in the 1800s waged a petty, sabotage-filled war over who could discover more dinosaurs. They blew up dig sites, bribed workers, and ruined each other’s careers—yet still named over 130 species. It’s called the Bone Wars.
boO4 TIL that there’s a mystery prisoner held in total seclusion in Israel, known only as Mister X. The press isn’t allowed to mention his existence.
l7xLG TIL: Saad Abe was a famous Geisha, who after 2+ hours of intimacy and erotic choking, killed her lover, cut off his penis and balls and began carrying them around until her arrest and practiced necrophilia as she stated she loved him. The judge in the case admitted to being aroused by the story.