› added 4 years ago

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TIL that in 1942 a dental surgeon from Pennsylvania USA wrote to the White House suggesting the use of incendiary bombs attached to bats, what ensued was $2 million dollars in research and a burnt down Air Force base.

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wBb1 TIL that a ‘second’ on a clock is called that way because it is the second division of an hour in 60 increments (the first being minutes)
AVGl TIL Robert Rodriguez started receiving phone calls at random hours of the day from Danny Trejo, trying to convince him to make the Machete film. Robert asked why Danny can’t just send a text message instead of constantly calling, to which Trejo replied: “Machete don’t text.”
YBPB TIL that Aerogel, also known as frozen smoke, is the world’s lowest density solid, clocking in anywhere from 95-99% air. If you hold a piece in your hand, it is almost impossible to feel or see, but if you poke it, it is like styrofoam. Also, it can support up to 4,000 times its own weight.
6xNQ TIL the way Helsinki survived WW2. In 1944 the USSR began a massive air attack on the city to force Finland to leave the war. Finns used fires and searchlights to trick Soviet bombers into dropping bombs outside the city. Russian diplomats were surprised to find an intact Helsinki after the war.
0jjj TIL A Homing Pigeon named Cher Ami received the Croix de Guerre for saving about 200 men in WW1. She delivered a message even thought she was shot, missing an eye and and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.