› added 11 years ago

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TIL that 45 million year old yeast extracted from amber was revived and used to brew beer, launching the Fossil Fuels Brewing Company

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18oO TIL up until 2006, Russian cosmonauts used to carry triple barreled pistols to space stations (including the ISS) as part of their survival kit. The pistols supported rifle bullets, shotgun shells and flares, and were intended to be used as a defense against predators after the landing.
ANwO4 TIL while Dick Fosbury was creating the Fosbury Flop, which became the standard high jump style after his 1968 Olympic gold, Debbie Brill was developing the same technique, calling it the Brill Bend. Neither knew of each other's innovation until they competed at the same junior competition.
g5ay TIL that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, had a wife with a severe speech impediment. And he protected her from the intense media coverage that followed his accomplishment and throughout their long life together.
yVjPl TiL the shutter sounds cannot be disabled on Japanese mobile phones as a means “to prevent secret filming or other privacy issues."
lwAB TIL that Richard Feynman wrote a letter to his wife 16 months after her tragic death from tuberculosis at age 25. The letter remained unopened until his death in 1988.