› added 8 years ago

337

TIL Yuri Gagarin had to eject himself and parachute down to Earth because his reentry from space in the capsule would have killed him as it had no brake mechanisms to slow him down sufficiently

Read more airandspace.si.edu

via reddit.com

OoKjY TIL an University of South Wales study found that unlike Yorkshire accent and Received Pronunciation speakers, those who speak with a Birmingham accent seem less intelligent than people who say nothing.
4k185 TIL during World War II, the British Secret Service created a special playing card deck for POWs that, when soaked in water, revealed hidden escape routes and maps. When dampened, the cards would separate to expose complete maps of prison camps and surrounding territories.
JoP4 TIL the September 11 terror attacks on the WTC released a dust cloud of toxic asbestos fibers across Manhattan. An estimated 410,000 people have been exposed. It is believed lung cancer and mesothelioma cases in the city will reach a peak in the year 2041 (four decades after 9/11)
4XNaw TIL Starbucks would not exist without the intervention of Bill Gates’ dad, who yelled at and shamed a colleague for trying to outbid Howard Schultz’ on Starbucks and steal “a kid’s” dream away from him. The colleague withdrew and Gates Sr. helped Howard Schultz fund the deal.
rRxvW TIL about Sarah Forbes Bonetta. An admitted genius and royal of the Yoruba tribe's Oyo empire that was given to Queen Victoria in 1850 as a present after her parents were decapitated and her siblings sold in the Atlantic slave trade. She would be raised as the Queens Goddaughter.