› added 12 years ago

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TIL: The Fallen Astronaut Memorial sculpture and plaque (the only piece of art on the moon) was smuggled onto Apollo 15 and installed in Mons Hadley without the knowledge of NASA and has not been commercialized.

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w9Eo TIL Humans have the ability to see ultraviolet (UV) light, but it is filtered by the eye’s lens. People who have surgery to remove the lens (typically because of cataracts) can see UV light.
Ypr0v TIL that the February and October Revolutions of 1917 actually occurred in March and November, respectively. This is because Tsarist Russia used the Julian calendar at the time, which the Bolsheviks changed to the Gregorian calendar after the revolution.
rDYw TIL Dr. Donald Unger cracked his knuckles every day for 60 years to see if it would cause arthritis. He would crack his knuckles on one hand every day and leave the other one as a control. After 60 years, there was no discernible difference between them and Unger won the Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine.
N7RLQ TIL Queen Elizabeth II owns the largest clear cut diamond in the world. Known as 'The Great Star of Africa' the 530 carats gem was mined in South Africa back in 1905 and has an estimated worth of $400 million.
WkXJ8 TIL the pink fairy armadillo is barely half a foot long, and here is one on video in reduced sunlight foraging around in the sand for roots and grubs on a rural road, and luckily some passersby were able to film it in action. It is native to South America.It mostly active at dawn, dusk, and night.