› added 4 years ago

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TIL Musician Ritchie Valens (La Bamba) died at the age of 17 in a plane crash, 8 months into his recording career.

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wo0j7 TIL that the concept of “brain death” is controversial and not universally accepted. While most of the medical community defines brain death as the irreversible cessation of all brain activity, some argue that it’s a social and legal construct rather than a definitive biological state.
4VBN TIL, Ancient Greeks and Romans used asbestos to make fire retardant materials so they could be cleaned by throwing them into the fire. Pliny the Elder noted that people who had contact with asbestos-containing materials acquired “sickness of the lungs.”
v1lkK TIL of Lydia Fairchild a mother from Washington State who's accused of fraud & kidnapping her own children. During application for government assistance, DNA test shows she has no connection to her kids. It turned out she has chimerism, she has 2 sets of DNA, the reason for the maternal test anomaly
e0Zgg TIL that in sensitive experiments, scientists have to use metal made before 1945 because the Cold War nuclear tests permanently made the atmosphere and as a result all manufactured metal too radioactive. Much of the metal is taken from sunken ships.
oQ5W TIL a rogue North Atlantic wave broke 67m (220 ft) above sea level, shattering 23 windows and flooding the Eagle Island lighthouse in Ireland. Workers were unable to open the door due to water pressure, forcing them to drill it to drain the tower