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TIL Belgian scientist Georges Lemaître died on 20 June 1966, shortly after having learned of the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, which provided further evidence for his proposal about the birth of the universe, the "Big Bang Theory"

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AdAw TIL that in the 1300s, some fellows from Modena stole a bucket from Bologna (both in Italy), resulting in a great deal of humiliation for the Bolognese. They declared war, had a battle with around 2,000 casualties (split between both sides), and failed to reclaim the bucket.
Brx0b TIL that hen filming the underwater scene in Alien Resurrection, Winona Ryder faced a challenge, as she nearly drowned as a kid. Instead of using a double, knowing it would be obvious, she faced her fear and filmed it, but suffered from anxiety later on
e06Kb TIL the phrase "souped up" predated automobiles and was actually a reference to injecting horses with steroids to improve their performance.
vAPj TIL that when Leopold Trouvelot was attempting to breed a better silkworm using Gypsy moths, several of the moths escaped from his home, and within ten years, the insect had denuded the vegetation in the neighborhood, and that’s how the Gypsy moth infestation across North-Eastern America began.
66JY TIL in 1969, Porsche developed a successor to the VW Beetle, the EA 266, which had a 1.6l 100hp mid-engine (strongest Beetle at the time: 54hp) and went up to 118mph. The VW board of directors was horrified - they wanted it to be sporty, but cheap and not a sports car - and it was never produced.