› added 12 years ago

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TIL that, when the Founding Father of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid, was asked about the future of Dubai, he said: “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel”

xV4E0 TIL the Outerbridge Crossing, connecting Staten Island to Perth Amboy, was not named so because it's the outermost bridge in NYC, but in honor of the first chairman of the Port Authority of NY and NJ, Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge
yap TIL Rick Rescorla moved from Britain to fight in Vietnam, was a hero at Ia Drang, and saved all but 7 of his 2,700 employs by running up and down 20 flights of stairs with a bull horn during the 9/11 terror attacks… which took his life.
4WMb TIL in 1739 a 16 year old girl in South Carolina was instrumental in creating an economy accounting for 1/3 the value of the colony’s output pre-Revolution. George Washington held her in such high esteem, upon her death he travelled to Philadelphia to be one of her pallbearers.
grWWD TIL The Common Swift Is the Record Holder for Longest Uninterrupted Flight. It can stay in the air for 10 months straight
9wx4Q TIL the use of electricity for medical purposes dates back at least 1800 years: the Imperial Roman physician Scribonius Largus wrote a book of cures in the 2nd century; his treatments for gout and headaches were accomplished by applying the current from an electric eel (or two) to the affected area.