› added 7 months ago

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TIL about the "Bell Island Boom." In 1978, a mysterious and extremely loud explosion occurred in Bell Island, Canada. The blast was audible from up to 100km away, and the energy released was so powerful that the Vela Satelites used by the US Govt to detect nuclear explosions, detected the event.

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XEa1P TIL American mechanic Walter Hunt is regarded as the inventor of the safety pin that bears resemblance to those used today. The safety pin included a clasp that covered the point and kept it from opening, and a circular twist at the bend to act as a spring and hold it in place.
R7p88 TIL Black Bears are killed for their skins to make Marge Simpson type hats for the Queen's Guards. In 2015, they purchased 122 hats for £1,224 each. There have been calls by animal rights groups to phase out this practice.
Z8V5p TIL a Curaçao woman rescued a flamingo that crashed into a window, nursing it back to health, and after realizing she couldn't release it back to the wild, made it an ambassador for his species, visiting schools with her to teach children about island wildlife and the importance of conservation.
wowJE TIL of the Colditz Cock, a glider built by British POWs imprisoned in Colditz castle in WWII. Made mostly of stolen wood and cloth, the glider could fit two men and was constructed in an attic above the chapel. The POWs finished the glider just before being liberated, and it never flew.
Kmx4 TIL of Valentina Vassilyeva, the Russian peasant who gave birth to 69 children by her husband Feodor. None were born solo, as she gave birth 27 different times - 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets. Feodor later had an additional 18 children with his second wife.