› added 12 years ago

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TIL that in the 60s, General Electric designed a system that could bring an astronaut from orbit to the Earth’s surface in an emergency. The system consisted of a plastic bag that would be filled with polyurethane foam, a small deorbit rocket, and a parachute. It could fit into a suitcase.

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NX4BN TIL that the average lifespan of zebras in the wild is 25 years.
JemB TIL That on an English political program the presenter’s Golden Retriever sometimes wanders around the set.
6y1Q TIL a South Carolina high school student was arrested and suspended, and had his locker searched because of a creative writing assignment where he mentioned buying a gun to shoot his neighbor’s pet dinosaur.
m1WKE TIL that there are roughly 107 classes of animals of which we are only taught a simplified 6 in school (birds, mammals, reptiles, etc.)
bOr0 TIL the first Westerner to witness seppuku, the French sea captain Dupetit Thouars (who had demanded justice after the killing of his men), was so appalled by the proceedings that he asked the remaining nine offenders to be spared. They were.