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TIL in 1962 JFK wanted to create a nuclear economy which would have made viable massive desalination plants. Getting freshwater from saltwater “would really dwarf any other scientific accomplishments”

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X06ZX TIL that The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University is the only international organization that is devoted to the research of chile peppers.
Wkamd TIL the median Xfinity internet subscriber uses 308 GB of data per month (and they have ~30 million subscribers). Depending on the distribution of usage, that could mean 10 Exabytes of data per month!
PYdPE TIL A decade before the Internet went mainstream, French citizens were interacting via Minitel, a computer network open to anyone with a telephone
gbx7 TIL that sending an all female crew to Mars would be significantly cheaper than sending men.
0wNgj TIL that in 1959 Colonel William Rankin became the only known person to survive a fall through a cumulonimbus thunderstorm cloud and suffered from frostbite, welts, bruises, and severe decompression as a result of the 40 minute fall.