› added 6 months ago

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TIL that in 1845, the screw-driven HMS Rattler proved the superiority of screw propellers over paddle wheels by winning a 100-mile race against the paddle-driven HMS Alecto. Rattler then towed Alecto backward at almost 3 knots in a tug-of-war, leading to the rise of screw propulsion in ship design.

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XE5gX TIL that there is a criminal called Dr. Ch@os who is currently incarcerated at the supermax prison ADX Florence for causing 28 power failures and hoarding large amounts of cyanide. After 20 years in prison, he is scheduled for release on September 8, 2019.
aKjb TIL that in 1988, Iran began a country-wide purge of political prisoners. People were beaten for missing daily prayers. One woman died after 22 days and 550 lashes, and the authorities certified her death as suicide because it was ‘she who had made the decision not to pray’.
Q69X TIL on 26 August 2016 in Hardangervidda, Kingdom of Norway, a “herd of wild reindeer was struck by lightning.” More than 300 (three hundred) reindeer died “in what wildlife officials say was a highly unusual massacre by nature.”
wg16 TIL Bob Ross had several pet squirrels. He brought them on his show from time to time.
16K4 TIL In a motor accident, where a speeding car hits a slower moving vehicle coming from the side, the speeding car drivers often swear that they just didn’t see the vehicle coming from the left or right. Well, they aren’t lying.This phenomenon is known as “Motion Induced Blindness”.