Recent comments in /f/todayilearned
badblackguy t1_jdh2vxu wrote
Reply to TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
And it looks so much like cilantro. Or parsley.
Theher0not t1_jdh13ey wrote
Reply to comment by humanregularbeing in TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
I mean, that sounds like an apt description. Some stuff is lovley then some stuff is this or hemlock.
humanregularbeing t1_jdh10hv wrote
Reply to comment by Theher0not in TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
I had a medical plants book that said messing with members of the parsley family is "like playing herbal roulette." Well put, I thought.
AydanZeGod t1_jdgxp6k wrote
Reply to comment by MoistCoyote in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Basically that BLM used be like ‘I don’t care what you’re using the horses for’ except now they’re going to be like ‘I don’t know what you’re using the horses for, I’m just going to sell them’
Planarleo127890 t1_jdgxc80 wrote
Reply to TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Feral horses, theres no wild horses in America.
sushantt t1_jdgwmwu wrote
Reply to TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
Is it painful?
similar_observation t1_jdgv3iv wrote
Reply to comment by Knute5 in TIL The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally written entirely by Carl Reiner, about stories from Reiner's life, and starred Carl Reiner. The pilot was unsuccessful so it was reworked with Dick Van Dyke playing Robert Petrie. by jamescookenotthatone
Mel and Carl were not just frequent collaborators, but also lifelong best friends. Rob Reiner recalls much of his childhood watching his dad and "Uncle Mel" trying to write material and laughing their asses off at what they could come up with. It's one of the reasons he was inspired to get into directing. And he gave us The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap. Likewise Mel Brooks kids referred to Carl Reiner as "Uncle Carl."
OtisTetraxReigns t1_jdgu4nu wrote
Reply to comment by beer_madness in TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
180%
LittleLostDoll t1_jdgo30a wrote
Reply to comment by WobblyGobbledygook in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
a mustang is normally freeze branded on its side. looks mostly like scarring unless your used to it as the brands age
Pour_Me_Another_ t1_jdgjsnw wrote
Reply to TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
I like to call it forbidden parsley or forbidden parsnips, depending on which part you want to eat.
rededelk t1_jdgirda wrote
Reply to comment by WobblyGobbledygook in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Read the OP post and I never said anything about racehorses. Talking wild mustangs, not thoroughbreds
WobblyGobbledygook t1_jdgijhj wrote
Reply to TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
So nobody reads "Misty of Chincoteague" as kids anymore??
WobblyGobbledygook t1_jdgic85 wrote
Reply to comment by rededelk in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Tattooed where? Racehorses used to be tattooed inside their bottom lip. (No idea if still the caes/location.)
neverbeenwrongb4 t1_jdggz17 wrote
Reply to comment by NorthSideSoxFan in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Everything starts as an invasive species.
neverbeenwrongb4 t1_jdggx6c wrote
Reply to comment by Gibbertina in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
The horses live on protected federal land, and the horses themselves are protected wildlife. The federal hunt and slaughter is a cull to keep their numbers in check so they don't devastate the landscape eating every last bit of vegetation and then all starve to death. They want some horses to live there safely and happily. They just can't let all of them live. The horses don't have any natural predators because wolves have been extirpated from most of the US.
Ur_Moms_Honda t1_jdge15k wrote
Reply to comment by Fetlocks_Glistening in TIL that at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, one of the French Generals was decapitated, while he was talking to a friend. by VengefulMight
...so close
SuretyBringsRuin t1_jdg9hu8 wrote
Reply to comment by Electric_Evil in TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
Was it a dream where you were where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid, with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
dickalopejr t1_jdg90z8 wrote
Reply to TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
No such thing as wild horses anymore. They're feral
Amadacius t1_jdg6iiz wrote
Reply to comment by dmr11 in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
They'd mainly be trying to replace small antelope and small game.
I can't say whether horse meat is really a better substitute than wild pig or anything like that.
tinman82 t1_jdg5e6s wrote
Reply to comment by Doctor_Expendable in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Man I've seen tons of that. It's crazy. I always assumed horses were inherently expensive to care for. They don't look good though. I also saw a cow in a plus size dog house and a pen that was crazy.
Ladranix t1_jdg57cn wrote
Reply to comment by Roguewolfe in TIL that the Hemlock Water Dropwort is the most poisonous plant in the UK. Its poison constricts the muscles, causing death by asphyxia, which also causes a rictus like death grin. Use of this plant in Phoenician Sardinia for executions is the origin of the term "Sardonic Grin". by AspireAgain
Tetanus fun fact! It functions as a precision set of molecular "scissors" and cleaves the synaptobrevin2/VAMP protein complex SNARE in inhibitory interneurons. The SNARE complex is responsible for the exocytosis of neurotransmitters, and the inhibitor neurons basically send the "off" signal to the rests of your neurons and tells them to stop firing. The degradation of the synaptobrevin protein prevents these signals from being sent causing massive overreactions in muscles to any and all stimuli. The really cool part is because the toxin is so specifically targeted to this specific type of cell, parts of it are being co-opted to deliver medications in a targeted fashion!
ChrisGeritol t1_jdg4j03 wrote
Reply to comment by ReefBiter in TIL there's a type of rainbow that's flat called a 'firebow' by Blackmere
It's a joke, silly kid. Look at the photo. Lord, some people are just dense.
Amadacius t1_jdg4f2x wrote
Reply to comment by CaliBigWill in TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
The crux of your argument seems to be that it free-range meat is more cruel than factory farmed meat. That if an animal lived a good life before slaughter it is more tragic than if we birthed them in a cage, deprived and abused them consistently from start to finish.
We round them up because they are an invasive species that disrupts the local ecology. We slaughter them because nobody else wants them. But every ounce of meat produced this way seems infinitely more ethical than the more systemic methods.
lrigwoCPlease t1_jdg42b2 wrote
Reply to TIL the US federal government captures and sells excess wild horses to the public by MoistCoyote
Saw it on 60 minutes!
aCuriousG t1_jdh351j wrote
Reply to comment by gerkletoss in TIL that the talipot palm produces the world's largest flower cluster (inflorescence) containing one to several million flowers. It grows up to 25m tall, takes 30 to 80 years to reach maturity to flower and then dies immediately afterwards, having drained all its nutrients in the process. by embouteillagez
Could read it as a number ranging from 1 million to several million