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TIL Isaac Asimov was not a fan of Orwell's 1984, saying about it in 1980: more people bought it and talked about it than read it, for it is a dreadfully dull book - didactic, repetitious, and all but motionless.

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d89d7 TIL Churches in Europe once employed “dog whippers” who would whip unruly dogs on church grounds during services. They also popped sleepy parishioners on the head in England.
LQ66p TIL In 1994 the athlete Mauro Prosperi got lost in the Moroccan desert during a marathon, he survived by eating roots, hunting beetles,snakes and drinking his urine for 10 days
9wJDD TIL that the Mary Celeste was found adrift with the crew and one life boat missing. Food, alcohol and personal items were undisturbed. The crew were never found.
nWlm9 TIL In 1966, the United States Air Force lost 4 hydrogen bombs above Palomares (Spain) after a midair collision. Two of these bombs spreaded radioactive material, including plutonium-239, over a wide area. A large amount of contaminated Spanish soil was removed, packed up, and ship to the US.
4Xp1N TIL that Nasa is working on a 'clockwork rover' without electronics to explore the surface of Venus