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TIL In 1608 Johannes Kepler wrote "Somnium", the first space exploration novel. It is about daemons who transport humans to the moon for four hours when the timing of orbit is right, and they must face "extreme cold and lack of air". Kepler kept the novel a secret from the public

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w6DY TIL that in 2011 a 6 year old boy was charged with sexual assault and may be forced to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life - because he played “doctor” with a 5 year old girl.
nelR7 TIL that the Ice Bucket Challenge actually helped fund the the discovery of a gene linked to the cause of ALS. The gene, NEK1, and its variants held clues to understanding and treating the disease.
QrwM TIL that after having the re-run episode of their Scientology episode of South Park “Trapped in the Closet” pulled from the air, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were quoted as saying, “So, Scientology, you may have won this battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun.”
m1pVx TIL that before the California Gold Rush, there was one in North Carolina in 1799! A 12-year-old named Conrad Reed found a 17-pound gold nugget while playing in a creek and used it as a doorstop for three years. When his family realized its value, they started the first gold rush in America!
NX408 TIL that Over 50 percent of the world's population relies on rice for 80 percent of it's food requirements