› added 10 months ago

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TIL: FDR, until his death, investigated the Oak Island Mystery. A collection of lost treasure in Canada that has been rumored for centuries. The money pit was said to contain artifacts from the Knights Templar or Captain Kidd. There has been several investors over the years, including John Wayne.

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9YlE7 TIL that Walmart has a lower acceptance rate than Harvard. Harvard boasts a fancy 5.2 percent admittance rate, but it's beaten badly by Walmart's minute 2.6% of applicants being accepted.
ZWxQ TIL you can safely land a helicopter from high altitude without engine power.
0wV0p TIL the oldest known bird in the world was a sulphur-crested cockatoo called Cocky Bennett, who lived to 120. He could even recall phrases such as "one feather more and I'll fly" and "one at a time, gentlemen, please".
Wk5p9 TIL at the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, the British were marching facing the French army, ignoring the Americans. Marquis de Lafayette, commander of the American Light Infantry brigade, ordered his band to play Yankee Doodle, and the British troops instantly turned to face U.S. soldiers.
5YRV9 TIL: An FBI file says (pg.34) a "clairvoyant" (name redacted) claimed the space shuttle Challenger explosion was the work of NASA-employed "local conspirators" in security whose addresses she gave. Checks found "none of the current security employees, or recent dismissals" lived in the general area.