› added 12 years ago

95

TIL The Soviet Union and USA made a plan to do a joint manned mission to Mars during the cold war. The Soviets supported it, but the idea was rejected by Reagan.

Read more nasa.gov

via reddit.com

EgMkW TIL East Timor can be translated to "East East" as the word "Timor" is Malay for "East." This is an example of a tautological place name; where two parts which sound different are actually synonymous.
bMJp TIL that in 2010 we started to receive radio waves from an unknown object in the nearby galaxy m82. The radio emission is unidentifiable and doesn’t look like anything seen before
61XZ TIL in 1997, there was an episode of Goosebumps called “Click.” In it, a kid gets a universal remote, uses it to pause his sister, change the color of his fish, fast forward through time, etc. 9 years later, Adam Sandler starred in a movie of the same name with a similar premise.
w6wE TIL A Seattle businessman founded a sperm bank in 1980 which accepted sperm only from Nobel laureates or ‘accomplished men.’ The intent was to create genetically superior children. Of the 218 children born under the program many are reportedly geniuses at various disciplines.
0dREv TIL that in 1995 a California woman contracted the bubonic plague when she ran over a squirrel in her power mower