W7XbX TIL that on warning of a likely missile launch against the USA, the Pentagon and Strategic Command war rooms, have one minute to brief the president, who then has roughly only six minutes to decide whether and how to respond.
9w5Xr TIL The Brandtaucher, a precursor to the German U-boat built in 1851, sank 60 feet to the bottom of Kiel harbor following equipment failure during a test dive. The three occupants were able to escape afterwards by letting water in, thus increasing the air pressure and allowing the hatch to open.
nWyM9 TIL Leonhard Euler wrote some papers on music theory. However, these papers were considered “too mathematical for musicians and too musical for mathematicians.”
4kmWR TIL about Moe Berg, a baseball player who learned 7 languages from Princeton and a law degree from Columbia. He worked as a spy in Europe during WW2, and was ordered to attend a lecture by Heisenberg and shoot him if he determined the Germans were close to the bomb. He determined that they were not.
x67nb TIL, Tribune, Kansas, population 772, is the fifth largest city by area in the US, and largest in the continental US. Tribune and Greeley county operate as one government entity.
5V1Rr TIL there are blood banks for dogs. Previously, veterinarians would have to rely on their own dogs or those of a client. Some dogs can also be universal donors, just like humans
M7GpA TIL Disney cofounder Roy Disney spent time with his grandchildren every week at Disneyland. Roy greeted each employee by name and picked up garbage he saw on the ground to teach them "Nobody is too good to pick up trash”
j6ybR TIL Aroldis Chapman's 105 mph pitch isn't the fastest of all time. When Nolan Ryan played, pitches weren't clocked until they were 10 feet from the plate. So with the proper adjustments, if thrown today, Ryan's 100.9 mph pitch (in the 9th inning) in 1974 would've clocked at about 108.5 mph.
0d1xA TIL Ben Stiller developed the premise for Tropic Thunder while shooting Empire of the Sun. He wanted to make a film based on the actors he knew who became "self-important" & appeared to believe they had been part of a real military unit after taking part in boot camps to prepare for war film roles.
gr5bX TIL that in the event of a U.S. military draft, members of the Florida State Guard (a state-level Civil Defense organization) are immune from conscription
LQAG0 TIL an innovative satellite launched in 1962, Telstar 1, was accidentally damaged beyond use by Cold War nuclear bombs. After transmitting the first TV and phone signals and images from space, it broke down due to damage from Soviet & American nuclear tests, but still orbits the earth today.
b6ybZ TIL that Country Music legend Tex Ritter is the father of John Ritter