› added 11 years ago

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TIL the Opportunity rover is still gathering scientific observations and reporting back to Earth after being on Mars for 10 years - over 40 times its designed lifespan

jNVdX TIL the title of the movie 'October Sky' is an anagram of 'Rocket Boys', the title of the 1998 book upon which the movie is based. Universal Studios marketing people had to change the title because, according to their research, women over thirty would never see a movie titled Rocket Boys.
1a0Pr TIL about anacyclosis: the theory that every form of government (monarchy, aristocracy, democracy) is inherently flawed and will eventually degenerate (tiranny, oligarchy, oclocracy). The cycle between the six stages is inevitable
xgND TIL a genetic study of people from Iceland found a number of them had a mutation predominantly found among Native Americans. It has theorised that this could be because of American women breeding with Viking men, during Norse exploration of America in the 11th century AD.
awrKN TIL The Buddha recommended eating rice porridge, saying "There are these five benefits in rice porridge. What five? It stills hunger, dispels thirst, settles wind, cleans out the bladder, and promotes the digestion of the remnants of undigested food. These are the five benefits of rice porridge."
4dGJ TIL that years ago Hulk Hogan missed a call from his agent to sponsor a new indoor grill who then gave it to George Foreman, who was also his client. George Foreman earned nearly $500 million off marketing the grill