› added 9 months ago

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TIL that in the name of the element "Helium", the "-ium" prefix is typically only applied to metals, but the astronomer who discovered it & coined the name wasn't aware of the naming convention

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ep67g TIL that the initial version of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified 747, had a crew escape tunnel extending from the top deck to the bottom of the aircraft. It was removed because of worries about escaping crew being ingested by the aircraft’s engines.
9wb77 TIL that my cake day coincides with the introduction of the Oreo, released by Nabisco on March 6, 1912.
KY8EJ TIL about the Human Death Spiral - the cycle of ultimately disasterous industrialization that filled the world with cars, which leads to sprawl that requires cars, which leads to even more cars, etc
e09P6 TIL of Medieval Chinese "Biaoju" (Security Company). Founded by peasant fighters, ex-military men entering lucrative private sector, and even ex-bandits, they provided bodyguard/escort and detective services to clients (usually travelling merchants) for a fee. The last Biaoju closed in 1920.
pYxYp Til that Sam Kinnison was training Jim Carrey to go on the road with him as a Pentecostal preacher.