› added 5 years ago

102

TIL that a solar storm in 2012 with a strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) missed Earth by nine days. Had the CME hit Earth, it would have inflicted serious damage to worldwide electronic systems and cost up to $2.6 trillion. The recovery time from such a disaster would have been about 4 to 10 years

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kJlb5 TIL that the word "confetti" in English and in Italian means 2 different things (respectively little pieces of paper or plastic that you throw at parties, and almonds covered in chocolate and sugar that you gift to wedding guests)
GA6Rj TIL that Richard Nixon is the only US president to be born on the west coast, and in any mainland state west of Texas
xgkw TIL Researchers report that nepetalactone, the essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET — the compound used in most commercial insect repellents.
xV08b TIL that the famous Birkin bag was created following the random encounter of actress Jane Birkin and Hermès creator Dumas on a plane : she complained about the impracticality of her daily bag without knowing who he was and he then made her a brand new black leather bag that became a fashion symbol
epAeJ TIL Michelle Pfeiffer stayed away from all talk shows to promote her movies for over 15 years. She was on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in the early 1980's and avoided public interviews until 1997 when she appeared on the Rosie O'Donnell show to promote "A Thousand Acres."