x6ggb TIL that Timothy Dexter (a wealthy but eccentric businessman) faked his death to see how many people would attend his funeral. Over 3,000 mourners showed up, but he revealed the ruse after berating his wife for not mourning enough.
5VNNr TIL An animal subspecies exists that uses fire tools to deliberately create fire. This is the only known animal on the planet (sans humans) to practice this behavior.
M766A TIL that in 1929, Jimmy Doolittle made the first flight using only instruments, with the cockpit windows blacked out. Proving pilots could fly “blind.” This paved the way for modern aviation. He later led the famous 1942 Doolittle Raid, the first U.S. airstrike on Japan in WWII.
j6ggR TIL that during the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, U.S. pilots George Welch and Kenneth Taylor took off in P-40 fighters under fire and shot down at least six Japanese aircraft. They were among the first American pilots to engage enemy planes in World War II.
0d55A TIL that during the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, F1 driver Martin Donnelly survived a terrifying 140 mph crash that flung him onto the track while still strapped to his seat, as his car split in half. His injuries were so severe that a priest was called to administer last rites. He survived.
grggX TIL that the bacterium devastating millions of olive trees in Italy, causing over €5.5 billion in annual damages, has been traced back to a single infected coffee plant imported from Costa Rica in 2008
LQww0 TIL The U.S. Passed Student Loan Forgiveness
b6GGZ TIL that sea otters hold hands when they sleep so they don’t drift apart.
QNeek TIL of the Mikea people of Madagascar, a group of hunter gatherers descended from various Malagasy groups who ran into the forest, looking to escape military conflict and heavy taxation from the Queen, sometime in the 1800s.
AN11a TIL that Joaquin Phoenix appeared in an episode of the Superboy TV series called "Little Hercules." (1989)
yVgge TIL that the first English slave trading expedition was that of John Hawkins in 1562
m1ggY TIL on the US West Coast, particularly Northern California, it's more common to play "Ro-Sham-Bo", instead of "Rock-Paper-Scissors".