› added 1 year ago

46

TIL during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, 50 of the plant's 800 workers stayed behind during the evacuation. The workers, including older plan retirees, volunteered to be exposed to high levels of radiation while working to prevent a full meltdown of the facility.

Read more news.yahoo.com

via reddit.com

Dayv TIL that North Koreans eat 375 calories a day
wopXY TIL about the discovery of IR and UV light: in 1800, William Herschel discovered that in prismed sunlight the invisible area just beyond red light heats up; In 1801, Johann Wilhelm Ritter searched for "cooling rays" on the other end of the spectrum but instead found it induces a chemical reaction
Zp9Da TIL that Pablo Neruda (the Nobel winning poet laureate) who died 12 days after Pinochet's successful coup in 1973. This week, a new toxicological report confirmed his poisoning, finding traces of Clostridium Botulinum, a neurotoxin that paralyzes the muscles and the nervous system leading to death.
16QbW TIL John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," became an advocate for missing children after his son Adam was abducted and murdered in 1981. His advocacy led to changes in laws and the creation of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. His show helped capture over 1,200 fugitives.
QNlKk TIL queen bumblebees are the only bumblebees to survive winter. Since queens are necessary to start colonies in the springtime, killing an existing bee colony (with future queens) can destroy several generations of bumblebees.