› added 12 years ago

73

TIL That the smell of rain is caused by a bacteria

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aPAb TIL that while filming Hans Gruber’s death scene in Die Hard, Alan Rickman was dropped a full second before he expected to fall, resulting in the look of shock present in the film.
xVDWo TIL Stephen Hawking saw a future in which the rich would use genetic engineering to make themselves smarter, more disease resistant and likely to live longer. “Once such superhumans appear, there will be significant political problems with unimproved humans, who won’t be able to compete", he wrote.
OP8Y TIL that the musicians in Pink Floyd did not do drugs while recording their influential albums, and founding member Roger Waters has “no idea” why their music is associated with drug culture.
XEmPX TIL Tolkien had Beren and Lúthien engraved on his and his wife's grave, Lúthien being the most beautiful being in all Arda and Beren the man she forsook her immortality for
AQv4 TIL that the quokka, a completely harmless marsupial, is totally unafraid of humans– to the point that some were once kicked to death by mean-spirited kids in “quokka soccer”.