P1nDZ TIL NASA engineers use Hawaiian lava fields to simulate conditions on Mars
epybg TIL Abulia, a neurological condition, results in a significant lack of willpower or initiative, often leading to severe difficulties in decision-making and diminished motivation to engage in daily activities.
VBObG TIL: The Mouse Utopia Experiment was a series of tests designed what would happen to mice if all conditions for survival were met. As populations grew, social pressure became destructive to the colony. Even though all physical needs were met, the colonies collapsed in every experiment.
X0VbX TIL that when Under Siege was released, it became the highest-grossing movie to have no advance screenings for critics.
OG4vL TIL the chocolate marshemellow treat (Viva Puffs/Mallomars in North America), were known across much of the world as “N*gger Kisses” or some variation of that until the late 2010s in some countries
691wY TIL the vindaloo curry is based on a Portuguese dish, carne de vinha d'alhos.
woy4J TIL that between the 1920s and the 1990s, around half a million US prisoners underwent state-sanctioned plastic surgery in attempts to rehabilitate repeat offenders based on the idea that appearance impacted the likelihood of reoffending.
R5Wyw TIL the Colorado National Guard once tried using flamethrowers and explosives against a swarm of locusts. It didn't work.
W7XbX TIL that on warning of a likely missile launch against the USA, the Pentagon and Strategic Command war rooms, have one minute to brief the president, who then has roughly only six minutes to decide whether and how to respond.
9w5Xr TIL The Brandtaucher, a precursor to the German U-boat built in 1851, sank 60 feet to the bottom of Kiel harbor following equipment failure during a test dive. The three occupants were able to escape afterwards by letting water in, thus increasing the air pressure and allowing the hatch to open.
4kmWR TIL about Moe Berg, a baseball player who learned 7 languages from Princeton and a law degree from Columbia. He worked as a spy in Europe during WW2, and was ordered to attend a lecture by Heisenberg and shoot him if he determined the Germans were close to the bomb. He determined that they were not.
nWyM9 TIL Leonhard Euler wrote some papers on music theory. However, these papers were considered “too mathematical for musicians and too musical for mathematicians.”