› added 3 months ago

20

TIL the US Federal Government lost $236 billion from "improper payments" in FY 2023

Read more gao.gov

via reddit.com

7rvOb TIL The Hubble Telescope is using Spermaceti (whale oil) to lubricate its parts due to whale oil's capacity to withstand extremely cold temperatures without coagulation.
VBdPk TIL That following the Messinian salinity crisis, during which the Mediterranean almost completely dried up for 630,000 years, 5.33 Ma ago the Zanclean flood happened: water broke through the Gibraltar Strait, filling the Mediterranean within months at 100,000,000 m³/s – 1,000x flow of the Amazon!
e0mOg TIL Earth's only natural satellite has no other name and is simply called "the Moon" because people didn't know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610.
Pwjw TIL in 1991 Maurice Krafft, a french Volcanologist, was filmed saying “I am never afraid because I have seen so many eruptions in 23 years that even if I die tomorrow, I don’t care”. He was killed during an eruption the very next day alongside his wife on Mt. Unzen in Japan.
xAMB TIL In 570 BC, during a rebellion against Pharaoh Apries, one of his generals, Amasis, joined the rebels. Apries sent a messenger to try and convince Amasis to return. After listening to the messenger, Amasis raised his leg, farted, and told him to take that back to the Pharaoh.