› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the Soviet AA-2 Atoll missile was reverse engineered from a US AIM-9 Sidewinder after it became lodged in a Chinese MiG-17 without exploding. The lead Soviet engineer at Vympel said, the missile was a "university offering a course in missile construction technology."

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4Xrdb TIL that Florence Lawrence is considered to be the first movie star, becoming nationally recognized before actors were ever credited in film
9Y7Zr TIL I can watch Broadway Musicals every Friday night!
OvNR TIL in 2001, a ten-year-old named Laura Buxton, released a balloon with her name and address in the hope of finding a pen pal. The balloon traveled 140 miles before coming down and was found by an almost-ten-year old also named Laura Buxton. They share a number of other similarities.
LQk0Z TIL that when Willie Fulgear found 52 stolen Oscars right before the 2000 Oscars ceremony, he was rewarded with $50,000 and a seat at the award show. But soon after, the police targeted and harassed him, and the money he won was stolen as well.
R7wb1 TIL Despite not being neighboring countries, Slovak and Slovenian are often confused for each other. Many political leaders have referred to leaders as being from the other country than they are from, and their national anthem and flags sometimes get confused for the wrong country.