› added 3 years ago

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TIL - The European space agency is building an extremely large telescope that they named “The Extremely Large Telescope”

Read more elt.eso.org

via reddit.com

WkXVL TIL that to avoid being conscripted by the Roman Army, some men would cut off their thumbs so that they couldn’t wield a sword. By the end of the fourth century, conscription avoidance was so widespread that Emperor Theodosius passed a law that forced the thumb-less to serve.
x6BGw TIL that the WW2 American naval fighter, the F4U "Corsair" had a unique solution for slowing down during steep descents: Its landing gear bay doors could double as airbrakes! This was an intentional component of its design.
d8nRE TiL women receiving radiation to their pelvis can have their ovaries transplanted into their forearm (heterotopic transplantation) to be retrieved in the future for IVF and maintain their fertility.
OrG6 TIL the highest verified blood alcohol level someone has had and survived is 1.374. It happened in Poland.
pYBRG TIL on 2008, in Douai, France, a bridegroom sued to annul his marriage because the bride wasn't virgin and had lied on the subject. He won in the High Court but lost in appeal