› added 5 years ago

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TIL about the polio epidemic of August 1952 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This epidemic ushered in the widespread use of positive-pressure ventilation, replacing the negative-pressure iron lung machine. It is also during this time that the concept of an intensive-care unit (ICU) was first introduced.

WkJ8X TIL That The Asylum, the company behind Sharknado and dozens upon dozens of other "so bad they're good" movies and shows, has never made a loss on any of its film productions.
8ADP TIL that Bill Gates told the creators of the Altair 8800 that he was working on a BASIC interpreter for the computer when he, in fact, was not and didn’t even own an Altair. When the president of the company asked for a demo, Gates made an Altair emulator with a BASIC interpreter within a few weeks.
EgO7P TIL Prairie dogs have the most complex language system ever observed in animals, and their memories are terrific. When they warn each other of approaching danger, they'll tell each other that "this is the coyote that won't approach the den" or "hide away from this coyote."
GYGv1 TIL the reason rockets used to be painted with a large black and white checkered pattern was to make it obvious if the rocket rolled in flight.
KOKa6 TIL about Superhabitable planets. This is a recent definition/category of planets or moons that must meet much more criteria than just being in the "Habitable Zone/Goldilocks Zone". No planet or moon has met these criteria as of yet, although the planet Kepler-442b is the closest to this definition.