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107

TIL astronauts vote from space

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8gZV TIL that one of the primary goals of alchemy - transmuting a base metal into a noble metal - was achieved as early as 1924 when gold was produced by neutron bombardment of mercury.
D4OY TIL that some cultures believed Vampires were arithmomaniacs and if you were being chased you could throw a handful of rice at them to forced the Vampire to stop and count each grain. This could also be the origin of “The Count” from Sesame Street.
Yp9ZP TIL: President Eisenhower hit the same pine tree so many times playing Augusta National that he tried to get the club to remove it in 1956. The club's chairman adjourned the meeting so he wouldn't have to disagree with a sitting POTUS. Sadly the tree had to be removed in 2011 due to an ice storm.
yQL88 TIL During the Cold War the US began work on a huge secret telescope. The plan was to use the moon as a reflector, to spy on bounced signals from the USSR. It would have been double the size of the largest steerable telescope ever built to this day. All that remains now is the concrete foundation.
M7L7m TIL Celine Dion only did one demo take for "My Heart Will Go On", which ended up being the final vocal used.