› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Joseph Kennedy initially hoped for his eldest son Joseph (jr.) to become President. It was only when Joe jr. was killed during World War II, that he encouraged his younger son, John F Kennedy, to pursue a political career.

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ADjXa TIL The first commercial plane ever shot down, in 1938, was salvaged from a river bottom, rebuilt, renamed and returned to service only to be destroyed in 1940 in another shooting incident.
neRwY TIL JFK asked his mother not to contact heads of state without asking first after she asked Nikita Khrushchev to send her his autograph
arLN TIL that, because of the wide use of plastics and polyurethane foam in modern furnishings, house fires today spread 8 times faster than they did 40 years ago.
ROj1 TIL citizens in the United States can give up their citizenship at any time, becoming stateless.
XEADk TIL that the oldest Boeing 747 still in active operation today first flew 1 week prior to man first stepping foot on the moon.