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todayilearned

Jul 07, 2020

TIL that metal (eg. coins, nails...) has no smell at all. The distinct smell we associate with metals is just the metal reacting with oils and other dirt on our hands. If you wash a coin thoroughly and smell it without ever touching it, it won't have any smell at all.

1-octen-3-ol 1-octen-3-one blood cant smell metal chemistry mercury metal metallic mushroom nile nilered odor red science smell

todayilearned

Jun 17, 2020

TIL that if you rub a piece of garlic on your foot, you will taste it in your mouth about an hour later.

chemistry hideimage science

todayilearned

May 31, 2020

TIL that due to the structure of Planet Earth, there are actually subterranean mountains some 410 miles down below the surface, with some being taller than Mount Everest.

biodiversity chemistry earth earth sciences earthquakes ecology geology himalaya minerals water

todayilearned

Apr 09, 2020

TIL that only 10% of wine 'experts' can consistently rate the wine from the same bottle in the same way, and they aren't consistent the next year. After analysing results across wine competitions in california, medals were found to be distributed at random.

chemistry food food & drink industry food science life and style science wine

todayilearned

Feb 05, 2020

TIL that alchemist Hennig Brand is thought to have used upwards of 1500 gallons of human urine in his quest to make gold. After he evaporated, boiled and distilled it multiple times, it started to glow in the dark and burst into flames. He had instead discovered the element phosphorus.

chemistry gizmodo phosphorus science urine

todayilearned

Jan 30, 2020

TIL 7-Up used to contain lithium

7-up beverage chemical chemistry drink fizzy ingredients lithium mix soda

todayilearned

Jan 05, 2020

TIL there are 18 types of ice crystal including recently confirmed Ice XVIII or Supersonic Ice. It exists under extreme pressure, is black, very hot, and heavier than regular ice. Scientists believe it's the most abundant form of water in the universe and is found deep in icy planets like Uranus.

berkeley chemistry christoph salzmann condensed matter physics crystals federica coppari johns hopkins university lawrence livermore national laboratory livia bove marius millot national center for scientific research omega laser physics pierfranco demontis pierre and marie curie university planetary science raymond jeanloz sabine stanley superionic ice university college london university of california university of rochester’s laboratory for laser energetics

todayilearned

Sep 22, 2019

TIL Wax Worms can eat and break down one of the most common plastics (polyethylene) into organic compounds. Wax worms are common insects which evolved to live in bee hives.

chemistry insects pollution recycling worms

todayilearned

Sep 03, 2019

TIL Humans are bioluminescent and glow in the dark, but the light that we emit is 1,000 times weaker than our human eyes are able to pick up.

biochemistry and molecular biology biology chemistry physics science

todayilearned

Jun 10, 2019

TIL that cobalt (as in cobalt blue) is named for the German word for goblin, Kobold. It got the name because cobalt hinders the extraction of silver, and emits toxic fumes when burned, leading to the deaths of several miners. Mine-dwelling goblins were blamed for leaving behind these ‘cursed’ rocks.

chemistry cobalt georg brandt io9 science science history torbern bergman

todayilearned

May 04, 2019

TIL Cone snail venom contains weaponized insulin. The insulin forms part of a poison mixture evocatively known as “nirvana cabal”. It allows the snail to disable entire schools of swimming fish by sending them into “hypoglycaemic shock”, a condition brought on by plummeting blood sugar levels.

biochemistry and molecular biology biology chemistry science wildlife world news zoology

todayilearned

Apr 19, 2019

TIL Humans are bioluminescent and glow in the dark. The light is just too weak for human eyes to detect

biochemistry and molecular biology biology chemistry physics science

todayilearned

Apr 10, 2019

TIL that Pistachio Nuts are prone to spontaneous combustion if improperly stored or transported in large quantities due to a chemical reaction that continues to take place in the nuts even after they are harvested

chemistry explosions food io9 physics science top

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