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TIL that the phrase “balls to the wall” comes from aviation; ball-shaped handles controlled the throttle and fuel, and putting these handles closer to the wall resulted in the fastest possible speed

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M7gPK TIL that a Prius once recorded 698 mpg while going at an average speed of 60 km/h or 37 mph
avGM TIL CIA had a hand in overthrowing the democratically elected government of Syria in 1949
awG0J TIL R.E.M.’s “Man on the Moon” lyrics repeat “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”. Michael Stipe said his friend Kurt Cobain had a habit of placing "yeah" in Nirvana songs so Stipe wanted to outdo him by writing a song with more “yeahs”
j6KyQ TIL that Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" was not intended to be released as a single. They were later convinced to do so by Michael Jackson who had attended a Queen concert in Los Angeles and suggested it to Freddie Mercury backstage.
OX0Y TIL in 1893 the Queen of Hawaii attempted to restore power to the crown and the native Hawaiians, with the support of more than two-thirds of registered voters. She was immediately overthrown by American businessmen and Hawaii soon became part of the United States.