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TIL - Most of the smoke billowing up from a space shuttle launch is not exhaust. It is water vapor from the pool of water under the shuttle designed to absorb the acoustic shock waves that could otherwise tear the shuttle apart.

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GYJ9N TIL it was considered impossible to run a mile in under 4 minutes until 1954, when Bannister ran the mile in under 4 minutes in the first time in human history
PYA9g TIL Zephany Nurse is a South African girl who was kidnapped as a baby. 17 years later, she was reunited with her real family when she coincidentally started going to the same school as her younger sister. The girls were inseparable and had a strong resemblance. A DNA test confirmed their relation.
kOERW TIL that actress Margaret Hamilton, best known for terrifying multiple generations as the Wicked Witch of the West, was a former kindergarten teacher who used her fame to benefit children, animals, and public education for the rest of her life. She was described as very kind and great with kids.
9wBkG TIL roman epicurean poet Lucretius repeatedly stated in his poem "de rerum natura" that his goal was to give a natural explanation of the universe, and "free the world from religion and fear of the gods". The same work opens by addressing the goddess Venus, peading for her guidance and protection
MRj8 TIL there was a “human zoo” in Brussels, Belgium where black people were displayed behind fences and where thrown bananas as food… 56 years ago.