› added 12 years ago

96

TIL the first man made aircraft to land on another planet and send back data was the Soviet Venera 7 in 1970. After successfully landing on Venus, the craft sent back only 23 minutes of weak data, presumably because it landed on its side.

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5VBgp TIL that during the Little Rock Crisis, ex-Governor of Arkansas Sid McMath called on Eisenhower to assume control of the Arkansas National Guard if Governor Orval Faubus tried to obstruct the carrying out of federal court orders on school integration.
VeGZ TIL that the U.S. put strict regulations on steam engines because they were dangerous to operate. To get around this law, one company made boilers full of boiling gasoline instead of water.
X0Mgj TIL Zheng Yi Sao was one of history's most prolific pirates and also a woman! A sex worker who married the head of a prolific pirating organization, she inherited it after his death & her marriage to her stepson. Captured by the East India Co, she still remained wealthy until her death aged 68.
69Lr8 TIL Alabama Song, made famous by the Doors, was originally written as a poem by Bertolt Brecht in 1925.
awEEy TIL that the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) the emblem for Australia contains a psychoactive alkaloid called DMT.