› added 10 years ago

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TIL Metal “whiskers” can grow spontaneously from circuit board components, and have caused the failure of at least one satellite, and were detected in a failed relay at a nuclear power plant

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M7g00 Today I learned that the Gemini 3 space crew, John Young and Gus Grissom, smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space
wLQXo TIL: An amateur Egyptologist, Seamus Blackley, successfully baked bread with 4,500-year-old yeast extracted from ancient Egyptian ceramics once used to bake bread and brew beer. The dormant yeast was activated by a nutrient solution injected into the ceramics during the extraction process
4rmw TIL that a priest on the Titanic refused to board a life boat twice, and instead stayed behind to hear confessions and give absolution to the people left on the ship.
4kNJX TIL of Pseudocyesis, also known as false pregnancy, where a person can have all symptoms of being pregnant, including perceiving fetal movements, without actually carrying a baby. It is assumed to be due to hormonal imbalances and psychological factors.
VMZ0k TIL that during the Siege of Syracuse (213-212 BC), Greek mathematician Archimedes refused to abandon the geometry equation he was working on during a battle. His last words before being killed by a Roman soldier were: “Don't disturb my circles!”