/f/todayilearned
TIL that somewhere between 3% and 21% of the population have a genetic variation in an olfactory receptor gene (OR6A2) that makes cilantro taste very unpleasant. Those with the variant describe the taste of cilantro as "a combination of soap and vomit" or similar to the odor emitted by stinkbugs.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Lagavulin16_neat t3_zatfik
TIL brussels sprouts used to have a bitter taste until breeders in the 90s started to cross-pollinate different varieties in order to remove the chemicals that caused the bitterness. The result of their work has lead to brussels sprouts's recent culinary popularity.
npr.orgSubmitted by wilymon t3_zan91j
TIL a group of folks in New Guinea used to not want worms consuming the remains of their deceased loved ones and so decided to eat the bodies themselves. They removed the brain, mixed it with ferns, and cooked it in bamboo tubes. They ate everything at the funerals except the gall bladders
npr.orgSubmitted by RainManToothpicks t3_za3d8m
Submitted by iamoneeighty t3_z9lh0g
TIL Soren Kierkegaard's first publish work was a panned review of Hans Christian Andersen. It ignited a life-long feud between the two Danes. Andersen responded by caricaturing the existentialist in "The Galoshes of Fortune," where Kierkegaard is portrayed as an annoying parrot who makes no sense.
degruyter.comSubmitted by Rowan-Trees t3_z95ang