10 Secrets You Didn’t Know About NASA
2. It Founded TLC
Not to be confused with the WWE event or the '90s girl group, TLC is a cable TV network best known for shows like My 600lb Life and Dr. Pimple Popper. However, like baby food and phone cameras, it can trace its history back to the folks at the space agency.
The station was originally founded in 1972 as the Appalachian Educational Satellite Project. This was a project started by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and our friends over at NASA.
It was designed to serve public schools and universities in the regions surrounding the Appalachian Mountains, providing young people with career, health, and general life advice.
The station grew over time and expanded its range to outside of the mountainous area. In 1980, it changed its name to ASCN - The Learning Channel, and by 1984 it was simply known as The Learning Channel, or TLC for short.
The TLC that's around today is a very different beast to the one NASA helped create in the '70s. Although surely some astronauts watch 90 Day Fiancé on their days off, so it's still helping the quest for space travel somehow.