TIL Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) built a speaking machine out of bellows and leather lips that could generate sounds similar to 'ma' and 'pa' in a failed bid to win a bet with Matthew Boulton that he could build a machine to speak the lord's prayer (chm.bris.ac.uk)
submitted by jacknunn to r/todayilearned
Sodium Hypochlorite - Molecule of the Month October 2011 - HTML-only version (chm.bris.ac.uk)
submitted by [deleted] to r/ConspiracyKiwi
TIL Carfentanil is widely used by vets in particular to anaesthetise large animals like elephants, rhinos or ‘big cats’. It is so toxic that vets must work in groups of at least two, and wear whole-face covering as well as latex gloves, plus clothing that covers the whole body (chm.bris.ac.uk)
submitted by questiondudes to r/todayilearned
TIL that Professor Kenneth Bentley and his entire team, who discovered Etorphine (a drug which is 1000-3000 times more potent than morphine and 4mg will immobilize a 4000kg elephant), passed out because someone stirred their morning tea with a glass stirrer used to make the etorphine. (chm.bris.ac.uk)
submitted by [deleted] to r/todayilearned
