› added 12 years ago

395

TIL that after 1812, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson spent “the rest of their lives writing fascinating letters to each other.”

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OG9aX TIL although she suffered several injuries, a Virginia skydiver survived hitting the ground at 80mph after falling over 13K feet when her parachute failed to open. Her reserve did deploy, but it made her main parachute pop out also & when the 2 parachutes separated, it dragged her down in a spiral.
R5D4Q Today I learned that Broadclub cuttlefish can hypnotize their prey
RrWQ TIL That the CIA was in contact with generals planning to assassinate the South Vietnam president on Nov. 2, 1963. Kennedy “rushed from the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face.” He had not approved Diệm’s murder. Kennedy was assassinated 20 days later.
5YgVD TIL Wallace and Gromit saved Wensleydale Cheese. The company was on the brink of closing down, before a chance mention in an animated short. Sales increased shortly afterwards, saving the company.
N7VD6 TIL of the Murray Gell-Man Amnesia Effect, i.e., we give newspapers the benefit of the doubt even after we catch them being inaccurate on subjects we know about. (Term was coined by Michael Crichton in "Why Speculate?")