› added 8 years ago

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TIL of Clair Engle, a US Senator who was left unable to speak because of a brain tumor. In 1964, when the Senate voted on whether or not to break the filibuster on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he pointed to his eye, signaling his vote in favor of ending the filibuster (“aye”).

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AXOa TIL The Pillars of Creation, a nebula 7,000 light years away, was destroyed by supernova 6,000 years ago. In a thousand years we will see it destroyed as it takes 7,000 years for the light to reach Earth.
J1Dlv TIL Compared with many primates, humans have a high propensity for proactive aggression, a trait shared with chimpanzees but not bonobos. By contrast, humans have a low propensity for reactive aggression compared with chimpanzees, and in this respect humans are more bonobo-like.
ANl1a TIL about Pharaoh Akhenaten who attempted to upend centuries of tradition by forcing the people of Egypt to abandon their pantheon of gods in favor of worshipping a single deity, Aten. After his death, monuments were dismantled, his statues destroyed, and his name excluded from lists of rulers.
kJ4NE TIL the New York Jets have never beaten the Philadelphia Eagles. The first time they played was in 1973.
dDR5r TIL XMM-Newton, an X-ray space observatory launched by the ESA in 1999 tasked with investigating interstellar Xray sources, performing narrow and broadrange spectroscopy, and imaging of objects in both Xray and optical wavelengths. Funded for 2yrs, with a 10yr design life, is still in good health.