› added 8 years ago

114

TIL that the Soviet launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, was such a shocking event that at least one theater manager stopped the movie to announce it. The movie was Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, and in the audience was a young Stephen King.

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NXkjM TIL that since the year 1960, London has only experienced six White Christmases
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P8XJ TIL first class meals on the Titanic consisted of up to 13 courses - each with a different accompanying wine pairing - and could last four or five hours.
XErRj TIL that when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 was hijacked and flown to Switzerland, the Swiss Air Force did not respond because the "incident occurred outside normal office hours."
R7l0l TIL St. Patrick was not Irish at all, but a spoiled and rebellious young Roman citizen living a life of luxury in fifth-century Britain when he was suddenly kidnapped from his family’s estate as a teenager and sold into slavery across the sea in Ireland.