› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the world’s oldest animal, a 507 year old clam named Ming, was accidentally killed by scientists trying to figure out how old it was.

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via reddit.com

KYdWQ TIL researchers have grown brain cells in a lab that have learned to play the 1970s tennis-like video game Pong
VBoY8 TIL about long-term nuclear waste warning messages, designed to warn civilizations ~10,000+ years in the future of the dangers of nuclear waste sites. Proposed solutions include an atomic priesthood to perpetuate rituals and myths, and cats genetically modified to change color when irradiated.
0wWRj TIL The coefficient of thermal expansion of steel is similar to that of concrete, eliminating large internal stresses due to differences in thermal expansion or contraction. This makes steel the ideal material to reinforce concrete in the world's largest structures.
oBMk8 TIL the physicians of King George V administered fatal doses of morphine and cocaine so that his death would be reported in the morning newspaper edition, rather than the "less appropriate... evening journals."
ADZea TIL that 3 years after illegally joining the Marines at the age of 14, Jack Lucas snuck onto a ship bound for Iwo Jima, stormed the beach without a rifle, and threw himself on top of two grenades to protect his team. He survived, and is the youngest person to earn the Medal of Honor at 17.