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TIL that the mother of Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction/Red Hot Chili Peppers) was murdered in 1983 when he was just 15 years old. in 2015, he released a documentary called Mourning Son, addressing his mother's murder as well as his battle with addiction subsequent to her death.

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awYGy TIL that in 1978, a Soviet scientist named Anatoli Bugorski stuck his head in a particle accelerator that sent a beam of protons traveling at nearly the speed of light straight through his head. He survived with half his face paralysed & deafness in one ear, completing his doctorate shortly after.
gM9P9 TIL that cobalt (as in cobalt blue) is named for the German word for goblin, Kobold. It got the name because cobalt hinders the extraction of silver, and emits toxic fumes when burned, leading to the deaths of several miners. Mine-dwelling goblins were blamed for leaving behind these ‘cursed’ rocks.
v1NEj TIL that Hawaii's first queen's first time running the country was marked by a smallpox outbreak and that the decisive action she took to stop the spread (closing all ports) drew the ire of rich sugarcane plantation owners and eventually lead to the coup that overthrew her.
oper TIL The Sesame Street character Ernie’s song “Rubber Ducky You’re The One” made it to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970
aw9Ky TIL that during the space race, Stanley Kubrick was so worried that humans would soon make first contact with aliens that he tried to buy an insurance policy for 2001: A Space Odyssey in case audiences found his depiction of aliens ridiculous.