TIL that in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, instead of a rush hour, they have what locals call a "rush minute", owing to the fact that the city is not connected to the rest of Canada by road and has a population of roughly 7,000 people who mostly work for the government with similar schedules. (cbc.ca)
submitted by __CarCat__
TIL that the Dragon Ball Z villain Frieza, a galactic tyrant who destroys all life on planets so he can resell them at a profit, was inspired by real estate speculators during the Japanese asset price bubble in the 1980s. Series author Akira Toriyama called them "the worst kind of people". (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by derstherower
TIL that there is an ALS-Parkinson's-dementia overlap syndrome seen almost exclusively in Guam called lytico-bodig disease. It was first reported in 1904 and by the 1950s had become the leading cause of death on the island before largely disappearing. The cause remains unknown. (pennmedicine.org)
submitted by JosiahWillardPibbs
TIL "First Man" screenwriter Josh Singer interviewed Neil Armstrong's wife Janet, who died two months before the release of the 2018 movie. Janet's anger during Neil's mission was real, as seen in her outburst to NASA men, "You're just a bunch of boys making models out of balsa wood!" (refinery29.com)
submitted by einstein_bern
TIL PFC Ralph E. Dias, A US Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic action that occured on November 12, 1969 in Vietnam. Although severely wounded multiple times by enemy fire, he continued to throw grenades at an enemy bunker until it was destroyed and he was mortally wounded. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by Octuplicate
TIL Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott got his drill stuck on the moon during an experiment. When he reached a depth of 5.3 feet, lunar soil particles rode up the helix of the drill bit and halted its momentum, postponing his task. The drill chuck was later auctioned for almost $50,000 in 2016 (ctemag.com)
submitted by einstein_bern
TIL a 𐕣 (inverted cross or upside down cross) symbol is also called the Cross of Saint Peter aka The Petrine Cross and is interconnected with the Vatican’s pope papacy prophecy from the Origen of Alexandria found in the "Martyrdom of Peter" dating from circa 200 A.D. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by ContextSwitchKiller