› added 4 years ago

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TIL the largest power outage in U.S. history was caused by a software bug in an alarm system and knocked out power for most of the Northeastern U.S. and parts of Canada

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epBJb TIL The USS Indianapolis delivered the enriched uranium and parts for the "Little Boy" atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but no one onboard knew the contents of this cargo. The uranium was secretly monitored by a radiologist throughout the trip to make sure the sailors would not be poisoned.
QwKd TIL Steven Tyler did so many drugs that he forgot that he recorded certain songs. Upon hearing “Toys in the Attic”, he said “Hey! That’s great! We should cover this. Who is it?” Joe Perry responded, “It’s us, fuckhead.”
xVaQ1 TIL the $35 that scientific journals charge you to read a paper goes 100% to the publisher and 0% to the authors. If you email a researcher and ask for their paper, they are allowed to send them to you for free and will be genuinely delighted to do so.
4XdyJ TIL During WWII, the only US land operation to take place on the Japanese home islands was performed by a submarine (U.S.S Barb). Crew from the sub went onto to the island and placed explosives on some tracks, which ended up sending a train into the ocean. The barb is the only sub to sink a train.
neQxo TIL about Antônio Carlos Jobim, called "the father of Bossa Nova." The composer of "The Girl from Ipanema" and other classics, an airport he mentioned in a few songs was later renamed in his honor.