› added 12 years ago

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TIL that escapes from prison by helicopter are not only a real thing, but that some criminals have escaped from prison Multiple times by helicopter

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QJ74k TIL that the US government uses a cartoon turtle to teach kids how to hide under their desks to survive a nuclear bomb attack.
lo6M7 TIL that Benjamin Franklin and his friend would use chess as a means to learn Italian; the winner of each game would assign a task, such as parts of the Italian grammar to be learned by heart, to be performed by the loser before their next meeting
YorP TIL The Stethoscope was invented because French physician Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec felt uncomfortable placing his face on a woman’s breasts to listen to her heartbeat
ANOvn TIL that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a higher human development index than all but four countries in the world.
byr7 TIL if you are an alcoholic at an airport, and feel tempted to head to one of the bars, instead have “Bill W.” paged over the loudspeaker. This is an AA code known by its members; if another AA member hears the page, he/she will come meet you and help you stay away from the bar.