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TIL when the Soviet Union launched the 1st satellite (Sputnik) into space in 1957, the event created such a profound public shock in the US that, in less than a year, congress had increased education funding six-fold and Eisenhower had signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act - creating NASA.

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VBVmk TIL that at age 8, Cynthia Ann Parker was captured by the Comanche tribe and adopted into their way of life, ultimately having 3 children with a chief, before being recaptured at age 33. She never fully reassimilated, having escaped once before being returned again.
jXPX TIL the most powerful commercial radio station ever was WLW (700KHz AM), which during certain times in the 1930s broadcasted 500kW radiated power. At night, it covered half the globe. Neighbors within the vicinity of the transmitter heard the audio in their pots, pans, and mattresses.
VMQvp TIL At the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott performed a live demonstration where he held out a hammer and a feather and dropped them at the same time. Because they were essentially in a vacuum, there was no air resistance and the feather fell at the same rate as the hammer, as Galileo had concluded
vPlx8 TIL about Frederick S. Dawn (Tang Xinyuan), who was a NASA Chief Engineer and textilist who invented several heat-resistant fibers that were critical in the development of the US Space Program. He was later called "The Father of the Space Suit" after Apollo 11's successful landing.
XEJDk TIL that the success rate for CPR is nowhere near as high as it is portrayed on TV. In some cities it can be as low as 5%.