› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, singlehandedly calculated an orbital technique called "Mars Cycling" which would allow for spacecraft to perpetually travel between Earth and Mars with only a single initial boost. Crew would board and return via a secondary spacecraft, saving fuel.

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vPblD TIL we don't actually know why testicles are outside the body; theories like due to heat fail since many animals like elephants or birds have testicles inside the body AND a higher internal temperature; others like ‘galloping hypothesis’ were proposed but all theories have failed one way or another
9w5ZB TIL the Amazon rainforest was the result and product of centuries of indigenous soil management rather than naturally formed as previously supposed.
x6MXk TIL about the Good Friday prayer for the Jews, a catholic prayer for Jews to convert. Overtime as antisemitism lessened the phrasing of the prayer was changed. From Jews being described as Perfidis to faithless to somewhat complementing Jews as the first to hear the word of God
VMew4 TIL Lionel Richie was a star tennis player in high school and accepted a tennis scholarship to attend Tuskegee Institute where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. Richie considered studying divinity to become a priest but ultimately decided he was not "priest material".
dQ8B TIL fashion designer Ralph Lauren’s original name is Ralph Lifshitz. He changed his name because, in his own words, “it has the word ‘shit’ in it”.