› added 12 years ago

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TIL during the Chernobyl, three engineers volunteered to dive into a pool of radioactive hydrogen peroxide with no working flashlights and open a pipe to stop the reactor from exploding. They succeeded.

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BrEBe TIL that until they were discovered in Australia, black swans were known in Europe as a metaphor for that which could not exist.
eV6L TIL three times more IKEA catalogues than Bibles are printed each year
GYng TIL The Moonwalk pre-dates Michael Jackson by at least 50 years, having been performed by James Brown, David Bowie, Dick Van Dyke and Cab Calloway.
9Y5YG TIL If the average night's sleep is eight hours (ie one third of a day), one sleeps for one third of one's life. If you live, say, 75 years, that's 25 years asleep, or 9,125 days
J1Y5Q TIL about Jon Lech Johansen, a self-trained software engineer who created software that decoded DVD copy protection. Johansen defended himself against computer hacking charges, arguing he didn't access anyone else's information: he owned the DVDs. He was acquitted in 2003.