› added 2 years ago

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TIL that the gemstone jet, where the phrase 'jet black' comes from, is actually a form of coal.

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via reddit.com

MRV7 TIL that the Infinite Monkey Theorem, stating that monkeys with typewriters and enough time could produce the entire works of Shakespeare, has been tried out in real life. They wrote five pages of S, slammed the keyboard with a stone and took a shit on it.
Bjge TIL that when Lodewijk van den Ber designed an experiment for the Space Shuttle, NASA asked for a list of eight people who could fly in orbit to run it. Adding his own name to finish the list, to van den Ber’s amazement he became the first Dutch spaceman despite his age (53) and physical condition.
kOM9e TIL that despite underground room-and-pillar mining taking place as early as the 13th Century, the use of canaries for early warning of toxic gases began only in 1900, with mice first being used for the role in 1896.
lKZN TIL that Duracell and Energizer are owned by Gillette and Schick, who started making disposable batteries as a sideline for their power shaver businesses.
VXOm TIL Robert Lincoln, son of President Lincoln was saved from a train accident by Edwin Booth, the brother of his father’s killer, John Wilkes Booth.