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TIL the Boeing 747 fuel tank is so big it takes up the entire wing span of the plane.

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via reddit.com

xB71 TIL The aerodynamics of the McLaren P1 create more downforce than the weight of the car itself. The rear wing also retracts past 150mph to prevent the downforce from breaking the suspension.
D1MZv TIL: The number of nuclear weapons in the world is actually down from 70,000 in 1986 to around 14,000 today
XEJKQ TIL That an illiterate retired guard in his 70s saved many of Timbuktu’s priceless manuscripts during the 2012 Al Qaeda occupation of the city, by smuggling them out of the city at night in rice sacks, in a cart. Jihadists went on to burn whatever manuscripts were left.
yQm7l TIL that New Zealand bans ludicrous children’s names that would cause offence: this has protected children from being called Stallion, Yeah Detroit, Fish and Chips, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, but did allow one to be called Number 16 Bus Shelter.
N7rwN TIL elephant shrews were called that because they are shrews with flexible noses like an elephant, but genetic analysis discovered they are not true shrews and are actually more closely related to elephants