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TIL Nasa got the idea of a rocket countdown from a 1929 Fritz Lang Film.

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04ej TIL “chickadee-dee-dee” is a predator alarm; the more “dee"s, the higher the alert level
QJR5E TIL of an organization in Belgium training giant rats (nicknamed "HeroRATs") to sniff out landmines in countries where explosive remnants of war pose a large threat to communities. The rats are extremely effective, outperforming both metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
9lAB TIL that all the American flags placed on the moon are now white due to radiation from the sun.
xGNk TIL Since being discovered by the timber industry in the 1850s, 96% of the 2,000,000 acres of old-growth Coast Redwood trees in California have been logged.
oB7jW TIL the word 'robot' comes from a Czech word meaning 'forced labour'