› added 11 years ago

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TIL the Gravity Probe B has the smoothest sphere ever made. If the GP-B gyroscope was enlarged to the size of Earth, the tallest mountain would be only 8 feet high.

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VMROZ TIL: Tom Cruise is obsessed with sending his co-stars cakes, even ones he worked with decades ago. Louis Theroux, documentary maker, even went to his grandmother's 100th Birthday Party to find 100 cupcakes from Tom Cruise, after Tom worked with his cousin.
W0p4 TIL Buzz Aldrin was the first man to curse on the moon when he said to Neil Armstrong “Bloody hell, I’ve just taken a shit in my space suit.”
X0OmP TIL that the British once tried to destroy an entire island after WW2 because they didn't want it to be used as a fleet base for the Germans. This was done in "Operation Big Bang" where they detonated 6700 tonnes of explosives, which is considered one of the largest single explosive detonation.
4XpV5 TIL Starbucks was a complete failure in Australia, mainly because Aussies are used to good quality coffee. They entered Australia in 2000, opened 84 outlets across Australia’s eastern coast. Eight years and $143 million in losses later they closed 60 stores, and sold the rest.
Vp9m TIL that since many female insects mate just once in their lives, insect populations can be controlled by releasing swarms of sterile males into the wild; the females mate with them, never have babies, and die. The method has eradicated populations of dangerous insects in several regions.