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TIL When the USS Simpson was decommissioned in September 2015, it meant the only United States ship still in active service to have sunk an enemy vessel was the 217-year-old USS Constitution

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Z8oo TIL NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, the largest open air building in the world, is so big that it has its own weather. Air condition must be used all the time otherwise it may rain inside.
je4X TIL Ancient Romans would shower daily, until the rise of Christianity, which made good hygiene a religious taboo
e5ab TIL The Apollo space suits were made by the bra company Playtex. After years of failures, they threw together a design in just 6 weeks and beat the aerospace companies. This was because one competitor’s design couldn’t fit through the door, and the other competitor had its suit helmet explode.
WJlL TIL JFK purchased 1,200 Cuban cigars just hours before he ordered the Cuban Trade Embargo in 1962.
DD6v TIL that in 1948 a DC radio station asked ambassadors what they’d like for Christmas. The French ambassador said “world peace”, the Russian said “freedom from the enslavement of imperialism”, and the Brit said “Well, it’s very kind of you to ask. I’d quite like a box of crystallised fruit.”