› added 7 years ago

55

TIL Speedy Gonzales cartoons were banned for a short while by Cartoon Network, due to perceived racial insensitivity. They were brought back the airwaves after fan campaigns, and the Hispanic-American rights organization League of United Latin American Citizens called Speedy a cultural icon.

awYVo TIL about the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant, Austrias first power plant that was build in the 70s for nowadays 1.4 billion euros, completed, but never went into operation because it was stopped last minute by a referendum with 50.5% against it. Now it is a training station & tourist attraction.
xVpW1 TIL the Wright Bros. famous first flight at Kitty Hawk actually took place on an island off North Carolina
wLKx6 TIL the word "quack" comes from the Dutch word "quacksalver", and originally referred to doctors and dentists who advocated mercury amalgam fillings. When mercury amalgams were invented in the 1800s most medical professionals rejected their use as too dangerous.
X0DbP TIL John Von Neumann proposed an idea of self replicating spacecraft. Robert Freitas calcd they could colonize the milky way in 500k years. That we see no evidence of them implies we are alone. Carl Sagan argued rate of replication would consume so much mass no intelligent species would build them
4XR4R TIL That, as of 2017, the US State that has the highest percentage of registered organ donors is Montana, with 93%. The lowest is New York at 23%. The overall number of American citizens registered to donate is 42% (2018.)