› added 6 years ago

235

TIL Ancient solar storms can be detected in tree rings

Read more pbs.org

via reddit.com

9YVBG TIL: Lise Meitner, an Austrian-born physicist, discovered that atomic nuclei can be split in half. She and her nephew explained and named nuclear fission in 1939, but the recognition went to Otto Hahn for this discovery. He was granted a Nobel Prize in 1944 in Chemistry.
nW80o TIL Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair.
GYdb7 TIL Volvo designed and patented the 3-point seatbelt. Recognizing the life-saving potential, Volvo eschewed licensing fees and opened the patent for use by any automaker without charge.
M7XBb TIL that in 2017, scientists successfully created a human-pig embryo, but terminated it after 4 weeks due to ethics concerns.
16XwP TIL in 1982 ecological activist Chaïm Nissim fired five RPG-7 rockets into the Superphénix nuclear reactor in France as protest of its construction. He was never caught, only revealing his involvement 21 years later, calling the attack "non-violent" and "quite beautiful".