› added 11 years ago

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TIL Of ‘Project Thor’: a terrifying weapon system that is shockingly simple - 6 m. Tungsten rods launched from near Earth orbit, invisible to radar, could strike anywhere on earth, impact speed of Mach 10, impact equal to a tactical nuclear bomb but with no explosives.

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yVWVp TIL that the Mr. Mister song ‘Broken Wings’ has the same lyric ‘take these broken wings, and learn to fly’ as the Beatles song ‘Black Bird’. Apparently both groups were inspired by the same poet-philosopher Kahlil Gibran
Bg7be TIL the writers of Predator got the idea from a joke following Rocky IV, that since Rocky had run out of earthly opponents, he would have to fight an alien if a fifth film were to be made.
grx5L TIL Gerrymandering is pronounced the same as GIF
xLl5 TIL that bread becomes stale not because it dries out, but because its starches degelatinize and crystalize, creating a hard, leathery texture.
5wVk TIL than in 1881 a woman got away with murdering a man who broke off their engagement by using the “hysteria defense,” i.e., a doctor told the jury that “Any virtuous woman when deprived of her virtue would go mad, undoubtedly.” The jury acquitted her in 20 minutes.