› added 10 years ago

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TIL in September, 2014, GlaxoSmithKline accidentally dumped 45 litres of concentrated live polio virus solution into the Lasne river in Belgium.

Read more ecdc.europa.eu

via reddit.com

nWWJW TIL that Wheeler, Virginia is closer to the capital of 9 other states than it is to its own state capital
bQD7 TIL Alan Parsons (the audio engineer of Dark Side of the Moon) rejected Pink Floyd’s invitation to work as the audio engineer of “Wish You Were Here” and started Alan Parsons Project
l7LmK TIL that a third of the cast and crew of the 1956 film The Conqueror, including John Wayne and director Dick Powell, developed cancer—likely due to filming near a nuclear test site.
4XDO6 TIL Flying "coach" is a reference to traveling by stagecoach, which involved large numbers of travelers sharing cramped quarters with little to no amenities. This primitive, negative connotation is why airlines don't officially call it "coach," but rather "economy class."
kjrB TIL of Henrietta Lacks, the “woman who will never die” because her cells never stopped reproducing