› added 6 years ago

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TIL that besides Chernobyl and Fukushima, there was a Soviet nuclear disaster that happened on 1957. The Kyshtym Disaster. Death toll is estimated to be at 50 to more than 8,000. The CIA knew about it but covered it up to prevent panic affecting their own nuclear plants.

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dDwrQ TIL Though they have ancient origins the modern western popularity of earth shelters was driven by the 1973 Oil Crisis and back-to-the-land movement. However the most earth shelters are in Northern China, where approximately 10 million people living underground.
W7g99 TIL: The Pinky Swear or the Pinky Promise has origins in Japan from 1600 where it is called yubikiri "finger cut-off" and often additionally confirmed with the vow "Pinky swear, whoever lies will be made to swallow a thousand needles"
N7oNQ TIL that George Clooney wanted Julia Roberts for the movie Ocean's Eleven but never met her before. Julia Roberts was charging $20 million a movie at the time so Clooney, unable to afford her, send her a script with a $20 bill with a note, 'I heard you’re getting 20 a picture.' She agreed to do it.
JYr5m TIL The government in various states used to call their electric chair "Old Sparky"
kJwV4 TIL Israel attempted to land a rover on the Moon in 2019, but crash landed due to gyroscope failure. The mission spilled a few thousand tardigrades onto the lunar surface, which probably survived, making them the 2nd species to reach the moon, after humans.