› added 3 years ago

62

TIL about the Goodyear Inflatoplane, an inflatable aircraft designed to serve as a rescue method for airmen trapped behind hostile lines. When unloaded, it weighed a mere 102 kilograms, and the engine on the smallest variant output a mere 40 horsepower, comparable to a small motorcycle's engine.

Read more beatlyzer.com

via beatlyzer.com

gMM9W TiL about General Walton Walker who commanded in WW1-2 and Korea. He served directly under General George Patton who died from an accident involving his staff car. Walker later commanded an Army of his own in Korea but later also died from an accident involving his staff car.
xVEB1 TIL The eldest son of Genghis Khan, Jochi, may not have been his. Khan's first wife was kidnapped and found 8 months later, pregnant. Khan treated him as his own, but doubt in legitimacy led to Ögedei as the heir.
xP5D TIL that the western lowland gorilla’s scientific name is gorilla gorilla gorilla
5Yv1R TIL in 1886, the Germans sent a mission to Chile to help train and modernise the Chilean army. As a result of the Germans overhaul of their army, the ceremonial uniforms, weapons and marching songs are all German or German based, and military parades look like a step into Germany 150 years ago.
j66LR TIL; in the 1970s there were four "Airport" disaster movies. In real life, all the planes went back into passenger service. Eventually 3 of the planes crashed, including the Concorde which crashed outside of Paris in 2000, killing all 107 people on board.