/f/todayilearned
TIL about the Thalidomide scandal in the 1950s and 1960s, which resulted in thousands of children being born with severe birth defects after their mothers took the drug during pregnancy, leading to increased regulation of pharmaceuticals worldwide.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Lylah_Love t3_11fpdrx
Submitted by [deleted] t3_11dz2hp
TIL that the library career of the creator of the Dewey Decimal system, Melvil Dewey ended in disgrace, because of his groping of female librarians. Dewey also insisted on seeing photographs of the women before he would hire them, to determine if they were attractive or not.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by VengefulMight t3_11dmsuc
TIL that George Washington signed the 1794 Slave Trade Act, which banned U.S. ships from participating in the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as forbid the exportation of slaves for foreign sale. It was the first major piece of legislation against slavery passed by the United States government.
battlefields.orgSubmitted by HawkeyeTen t3_118zkj4
TIL that an area in Texas is called "The Texas Killing Fields." Since the early 1970s roughly 30 bodies have been extracted from the fields, mainly consisting of young girls. The fields have been described as "a perfect place for killing somebody and getting away with it."
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by Deafwindow t3_1188be5
TIL the Higgs-Boson Particle, aka "the God Particle", was actually called "the Goddamn Particle" by physicists because it was so difficult to detect. Publishers forced the rename, resulting in a confusing tie to religion for the particle which is nearly universally hated by physicists.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by whozitsandwhatsits t3_116w0ok
TIL Shift work is associated with cognitive decline. Shift work throws of the circadian rhythm which causes hormonal irregularities and various neurobehavioural issues. Decline was seen in processing speed, working memory, psychomotor vigilance, cognitive control, and visual attention.
oem.bmj.comSubmitted by jamescookenotthatone t3_114ih9t
TIL that during Prince's Super Bowl halftime show volunteers accidentally ran over and severed three power cables during the stage set up, so a member of the lighting crew stripped the ends and held the cables in place by hand for the entire 12 minute show in the rain.
theringer.comSubmitted by kramerica_intern t3_1130kfr
Submitted by flopsyplum t3_1110gf6
TIL : Environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill lived in a 1500 year old California redwood tree (known as Luna) 180 feet (55 mm) off the ground for 738 days in order to prevent it from being chopped down by Pacific Lumber Company. She successfully saved the tree.
en.wikipedia.orgSubmitted by PyrowithJared t3_10xkred
TIL in 2010, following slumped sales after the Financial Crisis of 2008, Gap decided to redesign their 20-year longstanding logo, costing an estimated $100M. The amount of public backlash was so great, that Gap took the decision to revert back to their old 1990 logo after less than one week.
thebrandingjournal.comSubmitted by waitingforthesun92 t3_10x7u5t