› added 3 years ago

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TIL ordinary cheap computer hard drives do not work reliably above 10,000ft in altitude, because they require a cushion of dense air for the magnetic head to float on. Without that air density, the head will scratch the disk. People who live above 10,000ft must buy special hard drives.

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NXAYN TIL that deep-sea mining for valuable minerals like nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements is being explored on the ocean floor, but the industry is controversial due to concerns that it could disrupt ecosystems.
KYvYG TIL that in the early 2000s, a US nuclear submarine, "Greenville" had catastropically collided with a japanse high school training vessel. During a VIP demonstration voyage, after performing an emergency surfacing - the submarine sliced the training vessel in half.
b9G7E TIL a veteran walked 100 laps around his garden before his 100th birthday, hoping to raise £1000 for UK’s National Health Service. He actually raised £32.7 million and Queen Elizabeth knighted him. The man’s name is now Captain Sir Tom Moore.
e0y4b TIL Przewalski's Horses once thought to be the only true wild Horses never to be domesticated, are actually descended from domesticated Horses that were feralized thousands of years ago
w58M TIL The face of Yoda in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was based on the face of Albert Einstein. So was, to a lesser extent, the face of E.T.