› added 9 months ago

47

TIL that coffee fueled the Enlightenment by providing a safe alternative to contaminated water and alcohol

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rRb5M TIL that broiler chickens raised for breeding must be feed-restricted to prevent them from becoming overweight. One study found that 20% of birds allowed to eat as much as they wanted either died or had to be killed because of severe illness between 11 and 20 weeks of age.
1aJGX TIL many who survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945 were subsequently eaten by sharks as they bobbed in open waters for four days. Navy intelligence had ignored a message from the sub that had torpedoed it, thinking it was a trick to lure American rescue boats into an ambush.
wgL8 TIL there is a reflex in males, that when the inner thigh is stroked, your balls move
nJ09 TIL that in ancient Rome, after a person pooped, a communal sponge was used to wipe. The sponge was then rinsed in a bucket of salt water before being used by the next person.
jNDkn TIL Scientists made light travel at 17 meters per second by having light travel through a gas at nearly zero kelvin.