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TIL The largest firework on record used a 62" shell, weighed 2797 pounds, was launched from a 26 ft metal pipe buried into Emerald Mountain in Colorado, and was launched with a starting velocity of at least 300mph.

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eXoL TIL that the astronauts of Apollo 11 couldn’t get life insurance, so they signed photos that their families could auction in case the landing went wrong
4XZgN TIL the first African American senator assumed office in 1897 was Blanche Bruce
e0BEJ TIL During WW2 Joe Medicine Crow, a native American, completed all four feats required to be a war chief: touching an enemy without killing him, taking an enemy's weapon, leading a war party and stealing 50 horses from the SS, singing a Crow honour song as he rode away.
9YX6r TIL that Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven was written about his 4 year old son, Connor Clapton, who died by falling out of an apartment building.
Ookdg TIL that we've tiny mirrors (retroreflectors) on the moon to reflect the laser beams fired from earth to measure the lunar distance. The round-trip takes of about 2.5 seconds and the distance to the Moon can be measured with millimeter precision.