› added 5 years ago

100

TIL that the highest absolute altitude ever achieved by a helicopter (12,440 m) resulted in the engines experiencing a flameout at peak altitude. The pilot then set the record for the longest autorotation used for the unpowered landing of a helicopter.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

wo61P TIL The St. Gallen bratwurst, made from veal, pork, and milk, is IGP-protected. Virtually unchanged since 1438, it is mainly eaten as street food, traditionally without mustard, served with bread.
VxpZ TIL In the late 1980s, young punk rockers in Cuba, known as “los frikis,” were so fed-up with the stifling life of the communist regime that they chose to inject themselves with the AIDS virus so they could live in a sanitarium and be free from constant police-state harassment.
Mey77 TIL rhino poaching has been increasing due to the use of its horn in Tradicional Chinese Medicine, despite scientific evidence that it doesn't help healing or improving any disease.
mApo TIL the ugli is a citrus fruit created by hybridizing a grapefruit, an orange, and a tangerine. Named ‘ugly’ for its unsightly, rough, wrinkled, greenish-yellow rind.
xr11 TIL that in French, Catalan or in Occitan, “cul-de-sac” literally means “ass of a bag”. J. R. R. Tolkien used the name Bag End as a literal translation of “cul-de-sac”, to poke fun at the British use of French terms.