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TIL In 1967, a rocket from an F-4 Phantom was accidentally fired on the deck of the USS Forrestal due to a power surge. The rocket struck the fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk, causing a fire which then detonated the aircraft bombs. 21 aircraft were lost, 40 damaged and 167 sailors killed.

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vB97 TIL Author William Peter Blatty once won $10,000 on the Groucho Marx show “You Bet Your Life“. When Groucho asked what he planned to do with the money, he said he planned to take some time off to “work on a novel.” The novel turned out to be “The Exorcist“.
gpl8 TIL Abuse of the smoke signal is known to have contributed to the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty, 8th century BCE. King You of Zhou had a habit of fooling his warlords with false warning beacons in order to amuse his queen. When an actual rebellion occurred, no one came to the aid of the king.
nwZ9 TIL a 400 years old bosnai tree survived the nuclear blast of Heroshima in 1945, later the tree was presented to USA as a gift and still flourishing in National Arboretum (Washington, D.C.) and past of the tree remained hidden till 2001.
5YZZk TIL about “The Miracle Ship” in World War 2. Weeks after surviving Pearl Harbor, a Japanese torpedo blew it’s bow off. Presumed dead by the US, the few survivors built a bow out of bamboo. Never designed to fight, it won 60 battle stars and was the 4th most decorated battle ship in US History.
Z8rko TIL about the mysterious worldwide epidemic of Encephalitis lethargica. The disease attacks the brain, leaving some victims in a statue-like condition, speechless and motionless. Between 1915 and 1926, 500,000 dead or incapacitated from it. It disappeared as mysteriously as it came in to the world.