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743

TIL that 63 Earths could fit inside Uranus

Read more coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu

via reddit.com

DPjj TIL that the longest traffic jam in history was 62 Miles long lasting 12 days.
oBKwA TIL during WWII, Russian soldiers took “heat pills” that kept them warm in the winter; however, they would also lose weight despite eating well. 2,4-dinitrophenol spikes metabolic rate as potential energy is lost as heat—it is banned as a weight loss aid (U.S.) as overdose can cook people to death.
b9Xn4 TIL Ex-President Ronald Reagan occupied the 34th-floor Fox Plaza office building (where parts of "Die Hard" were shot) til 2001, breaking tradition by using a private office over a federal one. When Reagan aides toured the 34th-floor in 1989, it was littered with shells/broken glass from "Die Hard".
xVxrk TIL Black Forest ham is a Protected Geographical Indication in the EU, requiring the ham to be traditionally and partially manufactured in the Black Forest region of Germany. However, the US and Canada do not recognize this, resulting in various qualities and types of ham being marketed as such.
Mjmb TIL the story that NASA spent $1 million on a space pen while the soviets simply used a pencil is false. The pen was developed by a private company without any taxpayer dollars and NASA simply became a client afterwards.