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TIL a sleeping pilot awoke to see Venus in the night sky, mistook it for an oncoming plane and dove the plane down. Unsecured passengers were thrown against the ceiling.

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5YByk TIL that early Americans, specifically the author of the American Dictionary, removed letters they deemed unnecessary (color/colour, neighbor/neighbour) to save money in print publications
yJ08 TIL in 1985 US Marshalls Service once sent “invitations” to the last known addresses of 5000 known fugitives saying they had won free tickets to a Redskins - Bengals game. When the “winners” arrived to pick up their tickets they were arrested by Deputy Marshals and DC Metropolitan Police officers.
E1XpV TIL Sum 41 declined a deal to provide a punk cover of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" for Zoolander's gasoline fight scene after watching a screening with the original song as a placeholder. "It’s perfect. You’ll ruin it by us doing a punk version of that."
mbdO TIL: The mother of Blair Witch Project actress Heather Donahue received multiple sympathy cards upon release of the film, viewers genuinely thought the film was real and she was dead.
d8Vl9 TIL the British WW2 Civilian Respirator gas mask had filters containing blue asbestos and arsenic. Because of this, it is recommended to wear a gas mask when handling the gas mask.