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TIL that on the same day James Van Allen announced his discovery of the “Van Allen” radiation belt, he agreed to help the US military nuke it to see what happened. It was described by historian James Fleming as the first time “someone discovered something and immediately decided to blow it up”.

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d8LG9 TIL almost every word Neil deGrasse Tyson says in COSMOS was written by Carl Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan
wopmJ TIL Reading, PA is 69% Hispanic
j69eX TIL of the Watermelon Riot, in which a stolen watermelon slice led to 17 deaths and property damage
a8ABo TIL Hugh Hefner tried countless times to get Raquel Welch to pose nude, and she kept rejecting the offer. Welch did eventually pose for Playboy with her clothes on. Hefner then called her boring, but still had to pay her
jDVE TIL In 1987, a guy bought a lifetime unlimited first class American Airlines ticket for $250,000. He flew over 10,000 flights costing the company $21,000,000. They terminated his ticket in 2008.