› added 8 years ago

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TIL the man who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic, Robert Ballard, got funding for his expedition by agreeing to help the US Navy find a couple of sunken nuclear submarines first

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Qopk TIL The sudden startled jolt awake sometimes experienced when on the verge of sleeping is known as a hypnic jerk, and is likely a vestigial reflex selected to help primates avoid falling while resting or asleep in trees.
ADneo TIL that in February 1970, an amateur photographer was taking photos around an airport in Sydney, Australia. It was only after the film was developed that he realized he captured a stowaway's final moments as he fell out of the wheel well of a plane taking off and fell 56 meters to his death.
NvGb TIL that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was asked at her confirmation hearing where she’d spent the previous Christmas. Her answer: “Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.”
Zk8G TIL Bob Denver (aka Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island) is the great grandson of James W. Denver, the man for whom the city of Denver CO is named.
KaAE TIL there is a resident in MIT’s Random Hall called “The Milk” that is an expired carton of milk coming up on 22 years past its expiration date