› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Franklin Roosevelt was the first sitting US president to ride aboard an airplane, over 40 years after its invention.

Read more learning.blogs.nytimes.com

via reddit.com

JNoB TIL that sleeping supine (on your back) is likely to cause nightmares due to a higher possibility to sleep apnea and because all your vital organs are exposed, making you feel vulnerable,
loVGB TIL that Ayrton Senna blamed a "moving wall" for his crash at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. It was later found that the concrete wall had indeed moved out of place!
lo4WB TIL that for a time lots of navy ships and other military véhicule where painted in pink for better camouflage during dusk and dawn. The idea came from Lord Mountbatten after he saw a ship repainted in pink (the only colour available at the harbour) disappear in the sunset
XExGj Til: On the French island of Ile de ré, the donkeys wear trousers. Because the marshes were thick with mosquitoes and other bugs, locals sewed pants to keep insects off the donkeys legs.
l797a TIL about the story of José Saramago: born in a family of landless peasants, registered with the wrong surname, had to work as a mechanical locksmith, became famous at 50 years old after writing a book and nowadays its one of Portugal's most admired celebrities.