› added 1 year ago

45

Today I learned that in 1994, a plane was flying from Moscow to Hong Kong when the pilot's children got into the cockpit and accidentally turned off the autopilot. This resulted in a plane crash that killed all 75 people on the plane.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

m1a7E TIL that Windows 95 saved Southwest Airlines. When the CrowdStrike software glitch caused computers around the world to crash in 2024, Southwest was able to continue flying when rival airlines were grounded because it still uses Windows 95, which CrowdStrike didn't affect.
5Yl98 TIL in 1901, the Wright brothers built their own wind tunnel out of wood, old hacksaw blades and bicycle spokes; using it to test more than 200 wing shapes hand made from pieces of sheet steel and wax. The data it generated was critical to their first powered flight two years later.
Y7x6d TIL about the surgical procedure hymenoplasty, which restores or repairs the hymen. It’s most often used by women living in cultures where it’s existence or nonexistence can be the difference between shaming, ostracism and in some cases death
jNvWj TIL a study by researchers at a London university found that Botswana has the most unique folk and traditional music among the 137 countries investigated, followed by Ivory Coast, Chad, and Benin. China's music differs the most from its neighbors.
W7kno TIL that the Hollywood Reporter published a column in 1937 criticizing actors for speaking out against Nazi Germany. The newspaper's managing editor chided stars who he said were courting "unpopularity" by speaking out against Hitler's regime.