› added 4 months ago

22

TIL in 1952, Jimmy Carter led a team of nuclear scientists in disassembling a Canadian nuclear reactor undergoing meltdown. To accomplish this, Carter, alongside other American military personnel, personally lowered himself into the reactor to disassemble it by hand.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

EgVY0 TIL of Alexander Selkirk (1676 – 13 December 1721) who was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean.
4XYrX TIL that Elton John played piano on the Hollies "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
W7pKL TIL about Dupuytren’s Disease, which causes nodules and chords to form in the palm of you hand, and prevents you from fully opening/relaxing your fingers after a while (which is called Dupuytren’s Contracture). Newer treatments involve injecting an enzyme and audibly snapping the cord.
PZoV TIL that Tic Tacs are labeled in the US as containing zero sugar because US federal regulations state that if a single serving contains less than 0.5g of sugars it is allowable to express the amount of sugar in a serving as zero, and each Tic Tac weights JUST under 0.5g
nWx17 TIL the invasive destructive trailing ant can chew through rubber and plastic, and has damaged car tires and ignition systems. In 1922, it was even reported that these ants infested a research lab, killed several lab mice and attacked the scientists.