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On July 14th, the New Horizons spacecraft will make history when it sails past Pluto, formerly known as the ninth planet. Even more incredible is how fast we got there. The spacecraft traveled 3 billion miles in nine and a half years. That’s about a million miles a day for almost ten years. How the heck did we do it?

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Brylk TIL that rainforest canopies have their own soil that is completely distinct from the soil on the ground. This "canopy soil" forms on the tops of branches from the death of mosses and plants, and sustains a high richness of fungal species that regulate nitrogen and nutrients in the forest.
V8Em TIL Stephen Hawking refuses to upgrade his voice program to a more natural sound because he considers it to be “his own personal voice”
jNMwE TIL flipping someone off dates back to before recorded history. The first written record of it's use was in a Greek play call "The Clouds", where a student gives Socrates the finger in response to a question about basic poem structure.
KOr7G TIL pig udders stuffed with salted sea urchins were a coveted appetizer at the banquets of aristocratic ancient Romans, who were also known to fatten snails with milk before frying them. Boiled flamingo with dates was another elite delicacy.
VM9N4 TIL The Travelling Wilbury's first album was recorded at a house where the five guys casually hung out, free form jamming on acoustic guitars with no other instruments. George Harrison then took those tapes to his studio, remastered them, added other instruments and fine polished the album.