› added 10 years ago

82

TIL that Laika, the first dog in space, did not die peacefully of poison after six days as initially reported, but rather within seven hours of launch, likely due to overheating caused by a faulty temperature control system.

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168gV TIL in the 1920s AT&T built a "telephone pole farm" in Chester Township, New Jersey to test different types of trees and protectant methods. It was also a training ground for technicians to practice climbing.
mXJP TIL that 22% of Americans can name all five members of the Simpsons family, but only 0.1% of Americans can name all five First Amendment freedoms.
o8eL TIL the FAA considered building a fake Havana airport in south Florida in the 1960s to address a spree of skyjackings. Many plane hijackers at the time wanted to fly to Cuba. They would have landed at the phony airport, thinking they were in Havana, then been surprised and arrested by U.S. agents.
oB5bE TIL Continuous ingestion of Colloidal Silver [an alternative medicine] can cause skin to turn an irreversible blue/grey color - a condition called Argyria
OG6DY TIL that The New York City blackout of 1977 has 1616 building looted or destroyed and cost about 300 m $ damage