› added 8 months ago

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TIL the King of Hanover offered convicts free passage to America with fake passports and names as an alternative to a costly prison sentence

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via reddit.com

OoWoY TIL that Sir Patrick Moore, the famous British amateur astronomer, had the privilege to meet Orville Wright (of the Wright Bros) Yuri Gagarin (first man in space) and Neil Armstrong in his lifetime.
PYZOO TIL in 1795, the Spanish crown institutionalized the 'purchase of whiteness' through a decree called the 'gracias al sacar'. In the Spanish empire, wealthy mixed race people could now pay for a legal declaration that 'converted them' to white in order to conduct business freely and marry well.
kE1W TIL that the Swedish aircraft “The Viggen” is the only aircraft to get an acknowledged radar lock on the SR-71 “Stealth” plane
P15AG TIL that the current “land speed record” - the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land - is 763 mph. It was achieved in 1997 by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green and has not been beaten since.
1KgD TIL: Sally Field has played both Tom Hanks’ love interest in Punchline and his mom in Forrest Gump.