› added 8 years ago

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TIL the US were working on a nuclear cruise missile capable of staying multiple YEARS in the air by pushing air through an open nuclear reactor, heating said air, meanwhile spewing radioactivity everywhere, they even had a working engine, but they abandoned it, deeming it too provocative.

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5GAR TIL that map makers fabricate streets and geographical landmarks, called “Trap Streets,” to catch copyright violators.
1Z5W TIL In 1967, A 26 year old Australian Nurse used borrowed money to buy a plane which she flew into the Outback to eradicate Polio. She died at age 35 of cancer, and is remembered as one of the Great Women Pilots of the 20th Century
rN5Y4 TIL that in 2002 members of a simulated Mars mission in Utah uncovered an actual dinosaur fossil when on a mock spacewalk
oRmLK TIL Tom Cruise auditioned for Grease 2 (1982) but was turned down because of his height. Executives said "he's too short to make it in Hollywood"
EgZAx TIL the Swedish band Ace of Base got its name after member Ulf Ekberg watched the video for Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" while hungover on New Year's Day in 1991.