› added 9 years ago

86

TIL: Jupiter is so large that it and the Sun mutually orbit a point outside of the Sun itself.

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ZpMvv TIL that in 1879, before an audience of American writers and artists in Paris, Mark Twain gave a speech called "Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism" about the advantages and dangers of masturbation. It wouldn't be printed until 1943.
1aR4P TIL that in 1935 the Nazis held a competition in which baby pictures were sent in and the "most beautiful Aryan baby" was chosen by Joseph Goebbels. The baby they picked, and used in propaganda for years, was actually Jewish; the photo had been sent in to make the Nazi party look ridiculous.
DevY TIL when Igor Stravinsky’s ballet “The Rite of Spring” premiered in 1913 Paris, the audience was so shocked that loud derisive laughter and jeers forced the performance to stop. Pandemonium ensued when people in the audience began fighting and throwing things at the orchestra.
KW6E TIL that Hollywood got its name from a Chinese man in a wagon hauling wood.
vPRxB TIL I learned for the Voyager program engineers computed 10,000 potential trajectories. This was done not only to optimize the journey but also avoid having voyager reach a planet at Christmas or Thanksgiving time.