› added 2 years ago

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TIL about the Goiânia accident, one of the worst nuclear disasters. Fascinated locals began playing with glowing dust after opening a stolen radioactive capsule: lighting it on fire, applying it to their bodies, & consuming it. Up to 112,000 may have been exposed, & some died.

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RNQ9 TIL that red, irritated eyes after swimming isn’t from over-chlorination; it’s from urine.
dDM4E TIL that in 2012, the National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO) gifted NASA two space telescopes with capabilities exceeding that of the Hubble telescope. For example, the telescopes have shorter focal lengths, which in turn gives them a field of view that is 100x larger than Hubble.
4kO7a TIL: William R. King is the only U.S. Vice President to take the oath of office on foreign soil. King had tuberculosis and had traveled to Cuba to regain his health. Since he couldn't be in DC to take the oath, Congress passed an act that allowed him to be sworn in near Matanzas, Cuba.
mxBRY TIL Although all official records state 343 fire fighters died on 9/11. There was a 344th, Keith Roma, who saved 200 people, climbing tower 1 four times. He was NYFP (Fire patrol) so the FDNY don't list him on the list of dead even though they promised they would.
1aVyr TIL Michael Humphreys, the man who played the role of the young Forrest Gump, joined the US Army in 2004 and has completed an 18-month deployment in Iraq. While in the Army, he was given the nickname "Gump" by his fellow soldiers.