› added 8 years ago

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TIL the Opportunity rover is still gathering scientific observations and reporting back to Earth after being on Mars for 12 years - nearly 50 times its designed lifespan

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XEbXk TIL I learned an American-born, Irish-raised, fascist, nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw went to Germany to broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK in a British accent during WWII.
E1G8d TIL Daniel Kish is a blind man who taught himself to navigate by echolocation (like bats) by making swift clicking sounds that reflected from objects around him. Using these reflected sounds, he makes a mental image of his surroundings. He now trains others to 'see' the world like he does.
69PaW TIL that in 1971 the Shah of Iran threw one of the most expensive parties in history, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. It was attended by nearly all royal families and presidents, and spared no expense. The over extravagance arguably led to the islamic revolution and ousted him from power.
Org4 TIL that in MIT students once put a police car on top of MIT’s dome overnight with the flashing warning lights still in operation with a dummy policeman inside holding a box of donuts and coffee.
PmQw TIL When the BBC tried to trademark the image of the TARDIS, the Metropolitan Police tried to stop them as it is a ‘police’ box. However the court ruled in favour of the BBC because it’s more widely recognised as a time machine.