› added 10 years ago

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TIL that during the 1916 Rising in Dublin, the British and Irish Troops fighting at St. Stephen’s Green held daily ceasefires to allow the park-keeper feed the ducks that lived there.

5Yp09 TIL people with nerve damage in their fingers don't get "prune fingers" when soaked in water. This is because wrinkling is a reflex of the autonomic nervous system which causes blood vessels under the skin to constrict. This reflex is theorized to have evolved to improve our handling of wet objects.
e0XrL TIL that Inuit have more active sweat glands on their faces and fewer on covered parts of their bodies as compared to caucasians, allowing them to cool during exertion while clothed for Arctic life.
EmNd TIL that former director of the US Department of Defense, Andrew Marshall, was Appointed to the position by Richard Nixon. He was re-appointed by every president until his retirement because of is effectiveness. Most notably, he has predicted the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of China.
mxkVx TIL researchers found frequent masturbation in young men raised the risk for prostate cancer but in older men it lowered the risk. For older men, it helps drain the prostate of fluids that may contain cancer-causing substances. For younger it's a sign of excessive cancer inducing hormones.
7rPLZ TIL that Students in Finland rank far higher academically than US students despite going to school only half as long, having little homework and no standardized testing.