› added 5 years ago

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TIL spacesuits weigh nearly 300 pounds when empty (130kg)

Read more nasa.gov

via reddit.com

ADOl4 TIL the Jerusalem artichoke has no relationship to Jerusalem and is not an artichoke.
JYj0l TIL that Christmas used to be illegal in Massachusetts. After 1681, Christmas was no longer a crime, but was completely taboo. Anyone caught making merry or singing carols was prosecuted for disturbing the peace. It remained taboo until 1870, when the federal government made it a national holiday.
aOeZ TIL the Shakers, a religious sect that once numbered over six thousand, died off because one of their central tenants is celibacy.
rRAB4 TIL bumblebees are capable of flying at altitudes much higher than Mount Everest. Two bumblebees were placed inside a plexiglass chamber and were able to reach a simulated altitude of 29,525 ft with air pressure being reduced. The chamber kept breaking before the bumblebees stopped flying.
4RRb TIL during the Cuban missile crisis a Soviet Submarine came under attack from depth charges, the captain assumed WW3 had started and prepared to launch a nuclear weapon, his executive officer overruled him. It turned out the depth charges were training rounds being used to signal them to surface.