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TIL in 1975 Ingo Bethke escaped from East Germany by floating on an air mattress across the Elbe. 8 years later his brother Holger fled East Berlin by firing an arrow with a rope tied to it and zip lining accross. The two then flew their brother Egbert over the wall on a homemade ultralight in 1989.

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o8NA TIL of the “American Hippo Bill,” a 1910 plan to introduce hippos to the bayous of Louisiana in order to control populations of water hyacinth (an invasive plant species) and provide a source of meat. The bill fell just short of being passed.
N7rMJ TIL: In 1926, Tesla accurately predicted smartphones. "A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket."
nem5b TIL that late actor Michael Clarke Duncan was assigned to protect Notorious B.I.G. on the night he was killed, but Duncan switched assignments at the last minute. The death caused Duncan to quit working as a bodyguard and pursue acting full-time.
nexdr TIL that one air crash, Delta Flight 1141, was caused by the pilots talking about another air crash, Continental Flight 1713. They were so distracted by their own conversation they forgot to lower the flaps. The other air crash they were talking about also involved too much non-relevant discussion
QJJPe TIL that Al-qaeda initially considered targeting nuclear power plants on 9/11 but decided against it, fearing that such an attack "might get out of hand".