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TIL: Iron can be burned for energy is a plausible alternative to coal and hydrogen. It is abundant, already has a supply chain and produces no dangerous pollutants.

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DmWg TIL in 1941 the world’s largest seed bank (created by botanist Nikolai Vavilov) was housed in Leningrad. As the Germans surrounded the city forcing mass starvation, Vavilov’s scientists refused to eat from the collection, slowly dying of hunger as they maintained 16 rooms of edible plants.
ZpeRo TIL during World War II, US comedian Redd Foxx dodged the draft by eating half a bar of soap before his physical, a trick that resulted in heart palpitations.
6EOgX TIL that, contrary to expectations, objects with greater drag generate less heat when entering the atmosphere. This is because a pocket of air forms in front of the object. After this was discovered in 1951, vehicles such as the Apollo capsule were designed to enter the atmosphere blunt-end first.
96PB TIL that people back before the 1800’s used to sleep twice during the night.
X0gJ6 TIL The McGuire Twins, billed as the world’s heaviest twins, were obese due to a bout of German Measles affecting their pituitary glands at age 4.