› added 10 years ago

135

TIL in Sept 1940 the UK sent the US documents for improved radar, the jet engine, feasibility of an atomic bomb, rocket designs, plastic explosives & more; tech that would lead to victory, the nuclear age, jet age & said to be the “most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores”; in a single trunk.

Read more news.bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

9w5yD TIL that “the beard second” is a unit of length, defined by the distance an average beard hair grows in one sec. Inspired by & parodying the light year, it’s generally considered to be five nanometers, as a “standard” beard grows about 15cm (6 in) per year.
GYNE5 TIL In 1908 William "Bigfoot" Anakin, a local champion, was taken along by a publican to court to help demonstrate that darts was not gambling, it was a game of skill. He threw three darts in the center, no other court official could do the same. The judge ruled that darts was a game of skill.
rR58e TIL Unit 731 was a secret Japanese Research site in occupied China during WWII. They used thousands of Prisoners as guinea pigs in horrific experiments to breed and develop biological and chemical weapons. After the war, the US overlooked these atrocities in exchange for their records and results
KGoQ TIL one of the most isolated memorials on earth was built by hand by the family members of UTA Flight 772. It took over 2 months to construct and can be seen with Google Earth.
4XMxg TIL There are more possible iterations of a game of chess than there are atoms in the known universe.