› added 5 years ago

100

TIL that German film director Werner Herzog nearly took LANSA Flight 508, but canceled at the last minute. The plane was struck by lightning, killing 91 of 92 crew members and passengers. The lone survivor was 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, whose story was told in Herzog's documentary Wings of Hope.

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VMR6p TIL Over 60 old police cars were purchased for the making of the 1980 movie Blues Brothers' chase scenes, and none of them survived.
Y7Xvx TIL that dozens of African elephants are killed each day for their tusks and meat. The illegal ivory trade threatens the survival of these creatures and leaves hundreds of calves orphaned and almost certain to die.
X1Z6 TIL that Lamniformes, the mackerel sharks (Great Whites, Makos and many more) do not require sleep. Ever.
Br5Wr TIL 1$ worth of gold invested in 1801 would be worth 54$ by 2016, but 1$ invested in the US stock market in 1801 would be worth $16.24 million by 2016.
Pvkn TIL There is an Iranian custom called Taarof where people offer things they don’t really want to offer with the understanding they will be refused by people who really don’t want to refuse.