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TIL during the Apollo Program, NASA had an escape system for launchpad emergencies that led down a literal water slide into an underground bunker called the "Rubber Room" that could shelter up to 20 people for 24 hours

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x6K5 TIL a McDonald’s burger doesn’t rot, not because there are any mysterious chemicals in it, but because low moisture and dehydration basically turn it into jerky.
6EAKJ TIL the Statue of Liberty was originally a dull copper color, but after 20 years it oxidized and was covered in green petina. Congress wanted to paint away the corrosion, but the Army Corps of Engineers concluded it "softened the outlines of the Statue and made it beautiful."
RZRQ TIL When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, all of his shots initially missed the President; however, a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof Presidential vehicle and struck Reagan. Thus, a car made to protect the President from bullets instead directed gunfire to the president.
MDRW TIL that if the entire world’s population stood side by side in a giant square, with each person having 1 square meter of space to stand in, that (not so giant) square would only be 80km (50 miles) in length in each direction, and a Bugatti Veyron could drive around it in 50 minutes.
jNgXp TIL that Paul Kern, who was shot in the head in WWI and never slept again, spent about 12 of his 24-hr days clubbing and the worst “side effect” was how much it cost to stay awake all the time.