/f/todayilearned
TIL "Cute aggression" or the urge to squeeze cute animals or babies is the brain’s coping mechanism to temper the onslaught of positive feelings. Because if you find yourself incapacitated by how cute a baby is—so much so that you simply can't take care of it—that baby is going to starve.
smithsonianmag.comSubmitted by Patient_Champion_851 t3_11qo1iv
TIL that in medieval Japan, monks attempting to gain Nirvana would put themselves through 3000 days of eating nothing but tree byproducts, followed by drinking a tea that contains poison ivy, and eventually being buried while posing in a meditative state.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by 006ahmed t3_11q6ef8
TIL that mature bull elephants play a pivotal role in elephant society. The absence of mature bulls creates juvenile delinquency in younger bulls, who will soon enter musth. When mature bulls were introduced into areas with a high concentration of delinquents, they soon put a stop to this behavior.
africageographic.comSubmitted by TheGuyNoOneSees t3_11pxag3
TIL that King Alfonso XIII of Spain,was known as "the Playboy king"and considered the pioneer of pornographic cinema in Spain.He commissioned pornographic films considered immoral and degenerate, including sexual relationships involving Catholic priests, and his passion "women with enormous breasts"
newsrnd.comSubmitted by thirdwheelforever t3_11pbco5
TIL in 2004, Linda Ronstadt was booted and banned from the Aladdin hotel for dedicating a song to Michael Moore in support of his documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Along with this, bedlam began and Ronstadt was immediately booted, not allowed to return to her suite.
theguardian.comSubmitted by WalkingDown46 t3_11oywc3
TIL in 1952, Jimmy Carter led a team of nuclear scientists in disassembling a Canadian nuclear reactor undergoing meltdown. To accomplish this, Carter, alongside other American military personnel, personally lowered himself into the reactor to disassemble it by hand.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by JJKingwolf t3_11oqapv
TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by meat-juice t3_11gbneo