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NblE TIL Henrietta Leavitt discovered how to measure astronomical distances to stars and nebula (now known to be other galaxies). Her research allowed her employer, Edwin Hubble to later discover the expanding universe. He often stated she deserved a Nobel Prize for her work.
XEDZ8 TIL in the late 1800s Australian surveyors had realised the two tallest mountains, Mt. Kosciuszko and Mt. Townsend, were mismeasured, and in fact Mt. Townsend was taller. Instead of rewriting many textbooks the NSW government decided to switch the two names, leaving us with what we have today.
dDyx9 TIL that in the lower regions of space, despite the air density being low enough to allow a short-term orbit, the atmospheric density is still high enough that sounds can be heard.
e0gaD TIL Halley's comet was depicted in the famous 11th century Bayeux Tapestry which recounts the story of Duke William the Bastard conquering England in 1066.
1a8pW TIL that the #1 movie on IMDb for years was the Godfather, but fans of the Dark Knight started giving it low ratings in an effort to make TDK the #1 movie. TDK didn't stay on top, but the Godfather was given just enough low ratings to make it fall to the #2 spot, behind the Shawshank Redemption