› added 12 years ago

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TIL in 1951, a doctor took cells from Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge while she was being treated in Johns Hopkins’ Negro ward. HeLa cells have led to many medical advancements, and people have made millions off her cells. Yet, she is unknown & her family can’t even afford health insurance.

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b9N57 TIL for the longest time (not anymore) the fastest man made object was a manhole cover blown into space in 1957 by the US with a nuclear bomb. They estimated approx. 125000 mp/h (200000 km/h). This would have had them zipping past Pluto around 1961.
KYQQ4 Til Americans have accumulated $21 billion Worth of unused gift cards. Almost 2/3 of people have a card and half of those will likely lose the gift card before using it
PY6PV TIL In the '71 film, The Andromeda Strain, in order to film the sequence in which a monkey was 'killed', an airtight set was created into which carbon monoxide was pumped, forcing the monkey to suffocate. Then, a waiting veterinarian rushed on the set and treated it with oxygen.
X98X TIL the UK still retains 18 Queen’s Messengers, who hand deliver secret documents to British embassies worldwide, travelling undercover in business class. The diplomatic package has its own “passport”, as though it’s a human being, and is exempt from being searched or x-rayed by airport security.
wo5EW TIL in 1800 vice president Thomas Jefferson received a report of a large, brightly glowing light which was witnessed hovering in the Louisiana sky. Later, he presented the report to the American Philosophical Society and wrote about the event in his diary.