Spyke
til·Today I LearnedbyAniki

TIL about Thermoelectricity

The Thermoelectric effect (TE) comes in two variants:

  • The Seebeck effect makes it possible to turn a heat flow (based on a temperature difference) into electric power.
  • The peltier effect does the reverse: it turns an electric current into a temperature difference across the two sides of the device.

The fundamental mechanism is a p-n-transition. So you have two different semiconducting materials, which means that the electrons are on different energy levels on both sides. When the electrons move from one side to the other, they have to absorb energy from the environment to get on the higher energy level themselves (p->n transition), or they give off energy (n->p transition), thus cooling or heating the environment.

With this technology, it is possible to build solid-state heat pumps that generate a temperature difference from an electric current with no moving parts! (i don't know about efficiency or cost)

TIL about Thermoelectricityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effectOpen linkView original on feddit.org
til·Today I LearnedbyQuinnyCoded

TIL Humans have a tendency to walk counterclockwise over walking clockwise

I got this information from an Instagram reel but ig refreshed and I lost the link before I could save it, so I googled the phenomenon and got an article that talks about it instead. The reel said that it happens in a lot of small things we don't think about like bumper cars, ice skating, most motorsports, mosh pits, etc.

The counterclockwise favoring has even been found in some animals too!

TIL Humans have a tendency to walk counterclockwise over walking clockwisehttps://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/10/humans-prefer-to-walk-anticlockwise-scientists-find-reason-unclearOpen linkView original on sh.itjust.works
til·Today I LearnedbyAA5B

Poutine

I was “today” years old when I discovered poutine. I’d had fries with gravy before but poutine is much better! Where has this been all of my life?

Actually a bit of a fusion: birria poutine at the local Biergarten, SO GOOD!

View original on lemmy.world
til·Today I LearnedbyLadyButterfly she/her

TIL about Jambo a gorilla who protected a child who fell in the gorilla enclosure

On 31 August 1986, five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness. Jambo stood guard over the boy when he was unconscious, placing himself between the boy and other gorillas in what ethologists analyze as a protective gesture. He later stroked the unconscious boy's back.

TIL about Jambo a gorilla who protected a child who fell in the gorilla enclosurehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JamboOpen linkView original on piefed.blahaj.zone
til·Today I Learnedbymortalic

TIL cheese is fundamentally just fat, protein...

I was eating this cashew cheese at a farmers market (it was delicious btw) and it made me think, wtf even is cheese? From a couple articles I found

Fundamentally, cheese is a concentrated source of fat and protein derived from a liquid base, structured into a semi-solid or solid form through a process called coagulation.

While we traditionally think of cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk, the "cheese" label applies to any food that replicates this specific structural transformation, regardless of the starting ingredient. Here is the breakdown of what makes something cheese at its core:

  1. The Core Mechanism: Coagulation

The defining characteristic of cheese is not the source (milk vs. nuts), but the method. To turn a liquid into a cheese-like solid, you must separate the solids (curds) from the liquid (whey).

In Dairy: You add an acid (like lemon juice or vinegar) or enzymes (rennet) to milk. This causes the casein proteins to denature and clump together, trapping milk fats within the matrix.

In Plant-Based (Cashew, Soy, Almond): Since there are no caseins or lactose, you usually rely on mechanical processing (blending soaked nuts into a paste) combined with fermentation or the addition of thickeners (like agar, tapioca starch, or nutritional yeast) to mimic that curdled texture.

  1. The Biological Component: Fermentation

Traditional cheese relies heavily on microbiology. Bacteria and fungi are added to the curds to:

Convert lactose into lactic acid (preserving the cheese and adding tang).

Break down proteins and fats over time (ripening/aging), creating complex flavor compounds (umami, nuttiness, sharpness).

In vegan cheeses, this step is often simulated using cultured nuts (fermenting cashews with live bacteria cultures) or by adding flavorings like miso or yeast extracts to mimic that aged profile.

  1. The Structural Matrix

At a chemical level, cheese is an emulsion and a colloid.

It is a network where fat globules are suspended in a continuous protein matrix.

When you eat dairy cheese, your saliva and body heat melt the fat and break the protein bonds.

When you eat a cashew "cheese," the structure is held together by the natural oils in the nut and the gelatinization of any added starches or gums, aiming to replicate that same melting or spreading behavior.

Summary: What defines it?

If you strip away the cultural association with cows, "cheese" is simply:

A base (milk, nuts, soy, coconuts).

A flocculation agent (acid, enzyme, or mechanical separation) to create solids.

A flavor development phase (fermentation, aging, or curing).

A texture modifier to achieve a specific mouthfeel.

So, a cashew block fermented with lactic acid bacteria and salted is technically functioning as cheese because it has undergone the same fundamental physical and biological transformations as a wheel of cheddar, just using different building blocks. It is a functional food category defined by texture and production method rather than strict ingredients.

View original on lemmy.world
til·Today I LearnedbySwissArmyKazoo

TIL: While getting everything sorted out for his group N.W.A, Eazy E made his living as a drug dealer so he can save enough money to form his own record label where they can start producing music.

Imagine going around selling some dragon on the streets of California to Kickstart your own label, then ending up authoring an entire music genre forever and in death.

Just goes to show you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

If Weed played a part in N.W.A's success story than hand over the dutchie and consummate proposition 64 to make Eric The Easy Rider's legacy live on!

View original on lemmy.world