› added 6 years ago

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TIL that SETI scientists believed that the chances for finding intelligent extraterrestrial life were far greater than initially expected, since Earth developed two intelligent species - humans, and dolphins.

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69gBY TIL that in 1700, India had the largest GDP in the world including more than all of Western Europe combined.
ANlrg TIL: There is an early 19th century slang dictionary which helps adults of that time understand the youth. The slang includes "Cold as a wagon" = dead, "Coot" = idiot, "Exfluncticate" = destroy, and other insults/terms such as chirk, Catawamptiously chewed up, and Guttersnipe.
9Yj5G TIL, American pilots flew P-51 Mustangs in Very Long Range misisons operating from the island of Iwo Jima during WW2. These 7+ hour missions involved flying 3 hours across the open Pacific to targets in Japan and then 3+ hours return flight. Threats included bad weather, flak, enemy planes, etc.
V9Ym TIL the first modern attempt at restricting smoking was imposed by the then German government in every university, post office, military hospital, and Nazi Party office, under the auspices of Karl Astel’s Institute for Tobacco Hazards Research, created in 1941 under orders from Adolf Hitler.
NE98 TIL author Tess Gerritsen wrote a book called Gravity in 1999 about a woman scientist on the ISS who has to escape after satellite debris destroys the station. She sold the rights to New Line in 2000, who attached Alfonso Cuaron to direct. Cuaron has since claimed he came up with the story.