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TIL that an English inventor named Maurice Ward (1933-2011) invented a thermal shielding material called Starlite which was able to withstand extreme heat (10000 degrees C), but never revealed its composition in fear of reverse engineering and losing control of rights to the material.

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E1ZM7 TIL Cognitive distortions are inaccurate thoughts which are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions — telling ourselves things that sound rational and accurate, but really only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves.
xV0ED TIL The "World's Largest Dinosaur" in Drumheller, Alberta at 26.3 m tall is considerably larger than the largest known specimens of the actual dinosaur which reached up to 12.8 m in length. It has 106 stairs and the viewing area in the mouth can hold between 8 and 12 people at a time
OVda TIL Donald Rumsfeld reported 2 Trillion dollars were missing from the federal defense budget on 9/10/2001. ($8000 for every american citizen) The next day the pentagon accounting office was incinerated, and many people researching the missing money were killed.
1aRZV TIL the Netherlands government will subsidize sex from prostitutes for disabled citizens.
X06Mj TIL that the ancient city of Carthage practiced child sacrifice, as evidenced by the tophets, burial grounds for young children and infants.