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TIL Robert Englund, famous for playing Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” was auditioning for “Apocalypse Now” when he noticed auditions for “Star Wars” across the hall. He thought his friend Mark Hamill was perfect for the role of Luke Skywalker, and he suggested Hamill audition for it.

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valr TIL that America has a set of giant stone slabs, etched with “rules” for post-apocalyptic humanity in many different languages. It can be used to chart the sun and stars, and warns against “petty laws and useless officials”. No one knows who funded creation of the monument.
QyM TIL Curiosity’s wheels have a pattern that leaves patterned tracks in the sandy surface of Mars. That pattern is used by on-board cameras to judge the distance traveled. The pattern itself is Morse code for “JPL”
9oaB TIL that in January 1992, the banking system of Rhode Island suddenly collapsed, and hundreds of thousands of people lost access to their bank account for months, even years. Protesters were reported to smear excrement on the walls of the Rhode Island legislature in anger.
YpN4P TIL that there was once somehow a misconception that infants (not fetuses) somehow don't feel pain, with researchers merely assuming that newborns didn't have fully developed and functioning pain receptors. Unsurprisingly, that is inaccurate.
baE7 TIL that Mayday procedure was originated Frederick Stanley Mockford which was given the task to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency.