› added 1 year ago

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TIL that the two-man astronaut crews on the first four space shuttle missions wore special launch suits and sat in military jet-style seats that allowed them to eject at altitudes as high as 80,000 feet. These were no longer used once the shuttle was declared "operational" for future NASA missions.

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JANV TIL there exists a National Raisin Reserve, where US raisin farmers are forced to deposit part of their produce without any compensation. This is done in order to keep the raisin prices up, essentially making this a government run price cartel.
wL0kY TIL that 10-35% of people share the same genetic trait that makes us having to sneeze when looking towards the sun
DJMe TIL George Washington said he’d never set foot in London again, so when Virginia gifted a statue of the president to Great Britain they also sent dirt from Virginia to put under the statue.
pYaXZ TIL "Methinks the lady doth protest too much" is meant opposite to how it is used. It's not meant to doubt someone denying something, but rather someone proclaiming something. "Protest" (pruh-test) is a different word than (pro-test) that means to profess in favor. This is the origin of "Protestant"
pgoO TIL the Lazarus reflex is a reflex movement in brain dead patients which causes them to briefly raise their arms and drop them crossed on their chests in a position similar to some Egyptian mummies. The reflex is often preceded by slight shivering motions of the arms, followed by goose bumps.