› added 9 years ago

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TIL: A Kansas man replied to a Craigslist ad by a lesbian couple asking for a sperm donor to conceive a child. Five years later, a judge ruled that the sperm donor must pay child support even though he signed documents waiving his parental rights.

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via reddit.com

6R1w TIL an astronaut threw a boomerang while in a space station and it returned to him. As long as there is air to provide the necessary forces, a boomerang will return to its thrower, even in the weightlessness of Earth’s orbit.
mxYGp TIL Chuck E. Cheese’s backstory is that he was an orphan and didn’t know when his birthday was. This made him sad so he started throwing birthday parties for kids
87jG TIL As part of the War on Terror the song “Killing in the Name” was used by military interrogators at Guantánamo Bay as a form of psychological torture. “The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me,” noted Tom Morello.
wj4E TIL David Cope created a piece of software called Emily Howell, which could analyze sheet music of an artist and then write songs in the artist’s style. When professional musicians and reviewers were asked which song was written by Beethoven and which by Emily, most were unsure or wrong.
W7kB TIL Carl Sagan recorded a message for those who would make it to Mars. “Whatever the reason you’re on Mars is, I’m glad you’re there. And I wish I was with you.”