› added 4 months ago

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TIL that samples from asteroid Bennu, returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, contain molecular precursors to life, including all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA, suggesting asteroids may have contributed essential elements for life on Earth!

Read more bbc.com

via reddit.com

WkxJo TIL that in 1950, scientist Wernher Von Braun envisioned a Martian colony where the head of state goes by the name, "the Elon" on his book Das Marsprojekt.
p8a5p TIL the Creator of Kwanzaa was convicted of assault and imprisonment for group torture of two women through beating them with an electrical cord, burning them with a soldering iron, forcing water and detergent down their throats, and striking them with toasters.
R7bD6 TIL in the 1880s, many farmers communicated by connecting their phones to barbed wire fences. This process often allowed for up to 20 people to be connected at once, everyone’s phone would ring regardless of who called, and the invention helped many farmers overcome depression and loneliness.
6VwY TIL that a ‘dad’ is the tenth most popular Christmas list request for children, despite most of the top requests being desires for material possessions
9wDap TIL that many of Pompeii's residents survived the volcanic eruption -- evidence includes empty stables, empty safes, and hundreds of the unique names of Pompeii families found later in neighboring communities' records