› added 1 year ago

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TIL about Atomic Gardening, where plants are subjected to radiation in hope of creating useful hybrids. And it's still done today.

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5Y5Z9 TIL that the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor (age 97) says that what he witnessed in Europe still haunts him “every single day of his life.”
grZPL TIL it is unlikely that Jack the Ripper targeted prostitutes. There is no evidence to suggest most of his victims were sex workers. Some evidence indicates they were asleep when they were approached (no sounds or signs of a struggle, all found in a reclined position).
QJoR6 TIL: The orbit of Mercury follows a unique pattern different from other planets which remained unexplained until Einstein’s theory of bending space time due to large nearby gravitation. Previous theory was there was another planet between mercury and the sun, Vulcan.
Z8LvG TIL shortly after its launch the Telstar I communications satellite showed the power of instant communication - a satellite broadcast of the US president claiming that the USA wouldn't devalue the dollar immediately led to the currency strengthening on global markets.
BrL1e TIL that for the signing of the 1940 armistice between Germany and France, Hitler had the railcar that was used at the end of WWI placed in the exact same spot as the 1918 armistice and afterwards had the site destroyed.