› added 12 years ago

111

TIL that there is a satellite called LAGEOS that will return to earth in 8.4 million years. Inscribed on it is a picture of what scientists think the continents will look like at that time.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

epw8n TIL that up until the nineteenth century, states spent about two-thirds of their income on war.
wLD9o TIL Bill Gates once released a swarm of mosquitoes on an unsuspecting audience at a TED conference in 2009 to make a point. He said "There's no reason only poor people should have the experience," before adding that the mosquitoes were not infectious.
PYA6w TIL Scurvy used to be the scourge of the navy, killing sailors on long voyages. Now it's a blight to evolutionary biologists. They just don't know why it exists in humans. It's only in the primates - gorillas, chimps, humans, and a few monkeys - that the body stops producing this necessary vitamin.
d719 TIL The entire Norwegian police force only fired 3 shots during 2014.
e4LJ TIL Nikita Khrushchev made a speech denouncing Stalin that was so shocking it caused heart attacks for some in attendance.