Post * nW9y7 — Curious Curator

› added 8 months ago

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TIL of John Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland. Only one servant saw him for two decades; no one else, not even his doctor. He built 15 miles of tunnels under his estate including a giant ballroom that never had dances. Every room in his mansion and everywhere underground was painted pink.

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AD5nl TIL that Frances Cobain's godparents are Michael Stipe (REM) and actress Drew Barrymore.

nWyyP TIL that Michael Crichton, the author of “Jurassic Park” (1990), was a workaholic who followed what he called "a structured approach" of ritualistic self-denial, where, while writing a book, he’d rise increasingly early each day. At one point, Crichton would go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 2 AM.

6EnlQ TIL of Nandy, a Neanderthal skeleton recovered in Iraq. He suffered extensive injuries, including the loss of an arm early in his life, and was unlikely to have been able to care for himself. Despite this, he lived until the age of 45, suggesting that he was cared for by his society

E987 TIL the first man made aircraft to successfully land on another planet and send back data was the Soviet Venera 7 in 1970. After landing on Venus, the craft sent back only 23 minutes of weak data, presumably because it landed on its side.

R4M4 TIL that Soviet Navy officer Vasili Arkhipov prevented the launch of a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and thereby prevented a nuclear war.