› added 11 years ago

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TIL that using the word “literally” as “an intensifier for statements that are not literally true” is actually considered correct. The usage dates back to the 18th century, and can be found in writing by the likes of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain.

Me7AA National Geographic Emerging Explorer Leslie Dewan is helping to revolutionize the nuclear power industry by designing a safer, more efficient alternative to today’s reactors.Conventional nuclear reactors only use about 3 to 4 percent of uranium’s accessible energy. The energy left behind is what makes conventional nuclear waste—radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years—so dangerous. Extracting more of the available energy reduces the radioactive lifetime of the waste. To this end, Dewan is helping to develop techniques that extract 96 percent of the available energy.
xMB TIL Nzinga of Matamba was a warrior queen who kept a harem of 60 men whom she dressed in women’s clothes
DQovg TIL Johnny Cash was born J.R. Cash, as his parents compromised on his name. His mom wanted John, his dad wanted Ray. When he joined the Air Force, they wouldn't let him use just initials, so he adopted the name John R. Cash. He used "Johnny Cash" after being signed to Sun Records.
loB6A TIL Charles Dickens only worked 9am to 2pm and wrote his 28 books and over 200 essays without working longer than 5 hours a day.
YpvAZ TIL that the first battle of WWI consisted of a British ship firing a single shot at a German ship on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi) in Africa, and taking the captain "prisoner." The two captains had been drinking buddies for years, and weren't about to let the war ruin it.