› added 7 years ago

97

TIL of Project PACER, an attempt to produce power from nuclear bombs by detonating them in an underground cavity full of water, and using the steam to drive a turbine. It was cancelled due to the controversy surrounding nuclear bombs.

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epwx4 TIL that in 2002, after incumbent Minnesota Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chose former VP Walter Mondale to replace Wellstone a week before the election. This marked Mondale's return to politics after 22 years, losing with 47% of the vote
awx5N TIL Max Brooks (The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z) is Mel Brooks' (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs) son
m1d6E TIL that pope Alexander VI liked to watch horses copulate. Which would make him “laugh fit to bust.
wonOo TIL A Study Found Religious Children Are Meaner Than Secular Children
W7g0Y TIL that the Irish predominantly spelled Killian with a K until one year after Cillian Murphy starred in 28 Days Later, at which time “Cillian” became and has remained the standard spelling of that name.