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TIL during the meltdown, Chernobyl electrician Oleksander Lelechenko saved his younger colleagues from radiation exposure by walking through radioactive water three times to effect emergency repairs alone. He died in Kiev hospital less than 2 weeks after the disaster

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D1vjp TIL That many larger mammals, like blue whales and elephants, rarely die from cancer - Referred to as Peto's Paradox - Academic sources in video description
b6DeN TIL that in 2023, a massive Greenland landslide shook the Earth for nine days, baffling scientists. A huge rock-ice avalanche hit a fjord, creating a global seismic "hum" detected worldwide. The impact's repetitive pulses kept the planet vibrating for days.
6DoJ TIL One of the test pilots for the interceptor version of the SR-71 was chosen for Apollo 15 mission to the Moon. He had a heart attack after his moon walk and the only reason anybody knew was because NASA noticed it on his heart monitor. It was left out of the mission debriefing records.
ADXj7 TIL many orb-weaving spiders, including the common Barn Spider, take their webs down every day and build another web every evening, eating the old webs to reclaim resources. This is why most orb-shaped spider webs are free of debris and always look new
KOPm9 TIL that sliced bread originated in a small Missouri town called Chillicothe.