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TIL the Alien in “Alien” was inspired by a transparent deep sea parasite that eats other creatures from the inside out and then takes over their bodies to ride the seas in

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x6y90 TIL The Mercury astronaut candidate examinations involves sensory deprivation test of you being placed in a circular 8 foot deep tank of body temperature water without hallucinating. The normal reaction is for the subconscious mind to take over and one lapses into uncontrollable hallucinations
5YEEB TIL That The highest wind speed ever recorded occurred on Barrow Island, Australia. On April 10th, 1996, an unmanned weather station measured a 253 mph wind gust during Tropical Cyclone Olivia. This eclipsed the previous record of 231 mph which was set by Mt. Washington on the 12th April 1934.
7rmo7 TIL that Santos Dumont, a Brazilian aviator believed that air travel would bring world peace, therefore he offered his works for free, was accused of espionage during ww1. And he killed himself after witnessing planes being used in warfare.
7rG4p TIL that after Speedo released the LZR Racer in 2008, 93 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing an LZR Racer and 33 of the first 36 2008 Olympic medals have been won wearing it as of 24 August 2009. Its “technological” advantage led it to be banned from further high end competitive use
Lk95Q TIL the band Iron Maiden has their own Boeing 747 named after their mascot, Eddy, and their lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson is the pilot.