› added 7 years ago

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TIL that when one fails the British/Dutch navies’ Submarine Command Course (“The Perisher”), he is not told yet, but his bag is packed for him. When a boat/helicopter is ready the sailor is told of his failure, given a bottle of whisky, and immediately goes. He can never serve in a submarine again.

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yQlvM TIL HMS Porcupine was blown in half by a German torpedo, the two halves were towed back to the UK and recommissioned as two ships; HMS Pork and HMS Pine
yQdpp TIL that on October 6, 1909, Vancouver revealed its first Auto Ambulance and was taken on a test drive, when it ran over and almost instantly killed a wealthy man from Austin, Texas. Ironically, this man was the first person the ambulance picked up.
rNNP1 TIL that during the Civil War, Asa Tift, a notable Salvager from Key West, Florida, and his brothers financed a ship to be built for the Confederates in Mobile, Alabama. However, after the Unions victory at Vicksburg, Tift and his brothers decided to blow up the ship rather than let it be captured.
VMjKZ Today I Learned that James W. Ford was the first African American to run on a presdential ticket in the 20th century
NAO1 TIL the first credit card, issued in 1949 and made out of cardboard, was Diners Club. Co-founder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he forgot his wallet. His wife paid the tab, and McNamara thought of a multipurpose charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future.