› added 9 years ago

95

TIL that a Korean airlines accidentally strayed into Soviet Airspace, leading to the plane being shot down. To prevent such a tragedy, US President Ronald Reagan declassified a critical military tech and that is how we got GPS for civilian use.

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XdaD TIL of Niihau, the 7th largest island of Hawaii which is completely privately owned by one family who seeks to maintain it as it was purchased in 1864 for $10,000 in gold, including the native population.
loLjN TIL that a “touron” is park ranger slang for a tourist who behaves like a moron when entering a national park.
KG7Q TIL a man who entertained at restaurants played a stolen Stradivarius violin for over 50 years before confessing its true value to his wife on his deathbed
5Ywwk TIL that in an unbelievable coincidence, the moon is exactly four hundred times smaller than the Sun but four hundred times closer to the Earth, so that both the Sun and the Moon appear to be precisely the same size in the sky - which gives us the phenomenon we call a total eclipse.
R5xKw TIL Wilson in Castaway was inspired by screenwriter William Broyles's experience when, during a one-week stay on an isolated beach for research, a volleyball washed up on shore.