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todayilearned

Jul 12, 2020

TIL that the Mayan people constructed the temples in a way that a handclap at the base of the temple produces an echo that sounds like the call of the sacred Quetzal bird. For them the bird was a messenger of the gods.

acoustics chichen itza io9 kukulkan temple maya physics science

todayilearned

Mar 03, 2020

TIL The last mammoths died around 3,600 years ago, when the great pyramids of Giza were already 1,000 years old

archaeology biology extinction io9 mammoth megafauna paleontology sci science top woolly mammoth wrangel island

todayilearned

Jan 12, 2020

TIL that farm raised ostriches are attracted to humans and a scientific study found that “70% of the ostriches reliably hit on the humans when they were around,” and they would solicit sex “more than twice as often when the humans were nearby.”

animal behavior biology courtship behavior io9 mating ostrich farm ostriches sci scicurious science zoology

todayilearned

Dec 07, 2019

Today I learned that sign languages also have accents.

accents io9 linguistics science sign language

todayilearned

Jul 26, 2019

TIL Scurvy used to be the scourge of the navy, killing sailors on long voyages. Now it's a blight to evolutionary biologists. They just don't know why it exists in humans. It's only in the primates - gorillas, chimps, humans, and a few monkeys - that the body stops producing this necessary vitamin.

biology evolution hydrogen peroxide io9 medicine natural selection science scurvy vitamin c

todayilearned

Jun 28, 2019

TIL that, when the last woolly mammoths died out in 1650 BC, only about 4000 years ago. By that time, the pyramids of Giza were already a thousand years old.

archaeology biology extinction io9 mammoth megafauna paleontology sci science top woolly mammoth wrangel island

todayilearned

Jun 19, 2019

TIL that during WWI, France built a 'Fake Paris' near its capital city to confuse German pilots.

clone cities defense fb history io9 mad urbanism military paris retrofuturism secret history tweet world war i

todayilearned

Jun 13, 2019

TIL Snakes can defend themselves by releasing "Musk" from their cloaca. It smells bad enough to make some people vomit, and can't be washed off.

biology io9 musk science snakes

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 07, 2019

TIL that Iron Man (2008) had no script. “They had no script, man. They had an outline.” Jeff Bridges described the improvised production of the first MCU film as being “saved by the improv prowess of the film’s director (Jon Favreau) and star. (Robert Downey Jr.)”

io9 iron man jeff bridges jon favreau movies news robert downey jr.

todayilearned

Apr 28, 2019

TIL there is a 1420 book that was found to have cat piss on one of its pages. The author of the manuscript even wrote on the page "Cursed be the pesty cat that urinated over this book during the night in Deventer... and beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come."

cats goofballery history io9 manuscript medieval scribe

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

todayilearned

Apr 07, 2019

TIL that George Lucas tried to get the rights to make a Flash Gordon movie in the late 1970s. He was denied, so instead he decided to make his own sci-fi movie called Star Wars

comics cult movie profile dino de laurentiis flash gordon io9 mike hodges movies music nicholas roeg queen space opera

todayilearned

Apr 04, 2019

TIL The oldest recorded "your mom" joke was discovered on a 3,500 year old Babylonian tablet in 1976. The text read: “...of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it?” There was no response on the tablet.

archaeology babylon humor io9 mesopotamia sci science secret history sumer top

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