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TIL in 1995, a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 was intercepted and captured by the Taliban. After negotiations for a prisoner exchange fell through, the Russian crew physically overpowered and disarmed their guards and started their plane, narrowly dodging a firetruck as they took off towards freedom.

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vALj TIL that NASA is performing experiments on a technology that they hope will lead to a real “warp drive” that will allow a spaceship to arrive at another star system in far less time than it would take to get there at the speed of light.
6Ekrm TIL that there are elections in North Korea, on election day, everyone aged 17 and up is legally obliged to show up to vote. Once it is your turn to vote, you are given a ballot paper with just one name on it, nothing to fill in or cross out, you just take the paper and stick in a ballot box.
GAkyg TIL that in 1928, one couple named their child Herbert Hoover Jones in honor of the president. After the Great Depression four years later, they petitioned a court to relieve their son of the mortification "which he is suffering and will suffer" and change his name to Franklin D. Roosevelt Jones
yQxmJ TIL John Legend used to date Osama Bin Laden's niece.
Lo9V TIL when the head of The Piratebay, Peter Sunde, was arrested he asked to phone his girlfriend so she could lock the doors of his house before going with the policeman. The policeman said yes. Instead, he pushed a button on an app that immediately encrypted all servers of The Piratebay.