› added 1 year ago

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TIL: FDR's grandfather made his fortune snuggling opium into China; igniting the first war with European powers when the Emperor tried to enforce drug laws.

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m1NxM TIL older trees absorb more carbon
avDZ TIL days after Hurricane Katrina, an 20year old man with extensive criminal history named Jabbar Gibson stole a school bus and picked up around 70 stranded people and drove 13 hours from NO to Houston. The first bus to arrive at the Astrodome.
QrMe TIL that Strontium-90, an isotope emitted from nuclear fission, is chemically similar to calcium. This means that when it is inhaled after a nuclear blast, the body uses it as it would use calcium, depositing it straight into your bones where it delivers beta radiation to your bone marrow.
JYEbv TIL: in 2019 a Nepalese climber Nirmal (Nims) Purja climbed all 14 peaks in the world above 8000m (the death zone) in just 6 months.
M7GGK TIL when the artists arrived to record "We Are the World," Stevie Wonder told them that if the song wasn't finished in one take, he and Ray Charles would drive them home.