› added 7 years ago

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TIL that during the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope, a chip of paint flecked off a measuring rod and began giving off false readings. The mirror ended up being 4 microns off, resulting in billions of dollars worth of repair efforts.

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via ift.tt

R7jD4 TIL in the midnight of Dec 29, 2011 Samoa loses a day and jumps forward in time to Dec. 31, 2011 without experiencing Dec 30 as they move westward of international dateline. The switch was made to improve ties with major trade partners in Australia and New Zealand.
kOQe5 TIL as recently as 1990, single digit phone numbers existed in the UK
ZB9p TIL of Sessue Hayakawa, a Japanese actor who started in the silent era and became one of the first Hollywood sex symbols. He also created his own production company to fight Asian stereotypes, was nominated for an Oscar, became part of the French resistance in WWII and was a Zen master
4516 TIL: There was a “Deaf Zone” created at Grateful Dead concerts where deaf patrons held onto inflated balloons to feel the vibration of the music.
LDjv TIL that members of the Nazi Party and KKK shot five unarmed protesters to death – in NC, in 1979, in broad daylight, while being filmed – and all were acquitted in two separate trials.