› added 2 years ago

66

TIL The feeling of falling while you're asleep happens because your muscles become very relaxed and enter into temporary paralysis. The brain misinterprets this as falling and sends signals to your muscles to jerk upright which leads you to startle awake.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

7XxX TIL that in 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred Nobel’s obituary. It condemned Nobel for his invention of dynamite and labeled him the “merchant of death.” Disconcerted, Nobel set aside his fortune for the creation of the Nobel Prizes, so that he would leave behind a better legacy.
Wkky8 TIL Mustache March is an annual event where men in the US Air Force grow mustaches to honor Air Force legend Robin Olds and as a good-natured protest against facial hair regulations during the month of March. Triple-ace Robin Olds grew a handlebar mustache which did not comply with USAF regulations.
XEDlj TIL that on December 28, 1973, after having worked for 16 hours a day without breaks for six weeks, the crew of the Skylab space station mutineed and shut off communications with ground control for a day
1gdd TIL that Jimmy Carter is behind the impending demise of the Guinea Worm, one of mankind’s oldest and most painful (and gross) parasites.
OGJWR TIL One of the biggest bottlenecks in road work is soil compaction. Soil can’t effectively be compacted more than around a foot (30 cm) at a time. Any road work that affects the soil foundation can take months because of this.