› added 7 years ago

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TIL: Astronaut groupies in Florida were nicknamed "Cape Cookies". Infidelity was rife; wives had to maintain a perfect facade. Only 7/30 astro-marriages in the 60s survived. Alan Shepherd (first american in space), Pete Conrad (3rd man on the moon) and Dick Gordon (Apollo 12) formed the Go-Go crew.

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woNoY TIL about ''execution of nine relations'' from china in which a criminal's spouse, kids, grandkids, parents, grandparents ,cousins, aunts and uncles, inlaws would all be killed. Usually only used in cases of treason though sometimes this was used for crimes as mundane as libel.
dD7xd TIL The standard dollar bill length is roughly 6.14 inches or about half a foot. This makes it a convenient and easy-to-use measuring tool. The width of a dollar bill is around 2.61 inches, which can also be used for measurements in a pinch. 😉
R768Q TIL Russian military used foot wrapping instead of socks. Technique of wrapping feet in cloth was used since 17th century up until 2013 when they allowed the use of socks and announced the abolishment of centuries old practice.
yQy6V TIL that LA libraries started "The Great Read Away" program that allows kids to read books to clear their late fees. In the first six months of the program over 3,500 previously "locked accounts" had been cleared, and now 80% of parents are more likely to let their kids go to the library.
QJ64M TIL During the height of the Cold War, the US built an embassy in Moscow that was so riddled with eavesdropping equipment, by 1985 the building was abandoned after spending $136 million. Eventually, the embassy was taken apart brick by brick and rebuilt over 15 years at a cost of $240 million.