› added 10 years ago

102

TIL that when the Apollo 11 astronauts returned from first walking on the moon, in accordance with the recently passed Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law, the astronauts were placed in quarantine for fear that the Moon might contain undiscovered pathogens.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

neQEd TIL, Jürgen Hinzpeter was the the only journalist to film massacres during the government supression of the democratic uprising in the South Korean city of Gwangju in 1980. His footage was delivered to Germany and broadcast worldwide. In 2000s, he was honored by South Korea for his efforts.
wLgjM TIL: Hucksters and flim flam men plagued Iowa in the pre-WW1 years selling "patented" bridges that fell apart or washed away to naive county commissioners.
mJ9o TIL that Abba performed in glittering hotpants, sequined jumpsuits and platform heels because Swedish tax law dictated that costumes were tax deductible if they were so outrageous they could not possibly be worn on the street.
PYXEg TIL that the last weekend of Saturday morning cartoons in America was aired on October 4th, 2014. The CW aired its last segment of "The Vortexx" and replaced it with a 5-hour block of educational programming called "One Magnificent Morning"
7rZKM TIL During WW2, a German air raid in Bari, Italy hit the US Navy's SS John Harvey and 1000 people were exposed to the secret cargo of 2,000 mustard gas bombs. Doctors observed that the mustard gas destroyed the white blood cells of the victims. This discovery led to the development of chemotherapy.