› added 12 years ago

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TIL the largest high school arson in the US was at a school named Burnsville High School

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VMMAk TIL James Watson (DNA co-inventor), had to auction off his Nobel Prize Medal in 2014 due to poverty. A Russian billionaire bought it for $4.1M and returned it back to Watson stating, "a situation in which an outstanding scientist has to sell a medal recognising his achievements is unacceptable."
8kVa TIL that even with SATA 3.0, that SSDs only transfer data at a fraction of their speed due to the fact that SATA can’t keep up with the drive.
rOxx TIL when Jazz legend Nina Simone was preparing for her 1st recital at age 12, her parents were moved from the front row to make room for whites. 12 year old Simone refused to sing until her parents got their seats back. They did.
wolnP TIL people used to do their laundry in Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. They would put their clothes in the geyser and it would erupt with clean clothes.
aw9Ky TIL that during the space race, Stanley Kubrick was so worried that humans would soon make first contact with aliens that he tried to buy an insurance policy for 2001: A Space Odyssey in case audiences found his depiction of aliens ridiculous.