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TIL that in 2010, a crocodile that was being smuggled aboard an airplane got loose. When passengers scrambled to the front of the plane, it shifted the plane's center of gravity, causing them to crash. There was only one survivor.

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JYLr8 TIL the way Helsinki survived WW2. In 1944 the USSR began a massive air attack on the city to force Finland to leave the war. Finns used fires and searchlights to trick Soviet bombers into dropping bombs outside the city. Russian diplomats were surprised to find an intact Helsinki after the war.
epAv5 TIL the world's oldest amusement park, Bakken, opened in 1583 in Denmark. It started with the discovery of a natural spring in the area, attracting large seasonal crowds believing in the water's curative properties. This attracted entertainers and salesmen, kickstarting the park's establishment.
XEmeD TIL about a couple of guys that stole highly radioactive material from an abandoned hospital (not knowing what it was), thought it was cool since it was glowing, sold it to people, who shared it with friends and family...and well, ended up killing 4 and contaminating 249.
JYkZk TIL about the dangerous exploitative industry of Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. Most of the labor is done by children for very little pay. The demand ever increasing , this mineral fuels the tech industry, cobalt is used for batteries for phones, gadgets and e cars.
x6eMw TIL that famous jazz drummer Art Blakey briefly converted to Islam in the 1940s and led a "turbaned, Qur'an-reading jazz band called the 17 Messengers".