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TIL that most of the heat a spacecraft encounters re-entering earth’s atmosphere is caused by compression, not friction.

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v1pNx TIL of San Diego's 2012 July 4th celebration. A computer error caused all the fireworks to go off in a span of ~15 seconds instead of the 18 minutes it was meant to take
78OQx TIL the next periodical emergence of the 13- and 17-year cicada broods is 2024. The last time these insects co-emerged was 221 years ago while Thomas Jefferson was president.
GYdl5 TIL that fruit punch was invented as an alternative to beer by men working for the British East India Company. This is because the beer on their ships went bad when they reached the Indian Ocean. They ended up using rum, fruit, and spices available in their new location to create punch.
rRn70 TIL There were 22 California condors left in 1987 (0 in the wild). Thanks to conservation efforts, there are ~500 now. Its 3.0 m (9.8 ft) wingspan is the widest of any North American bird!
VDeG TIL that the destruction under Genghis Khan may have scrubbed as much as 700 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere by allowing forests to regrow on previously populated and cultivated land.