› added 5 years ago

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TIL that aerial dogfights were fought with pistols before they figured out how to properly install machine guns into planes.

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XxQD TIL that solid iron cannonballs kept underwater for a long time can explode once they reach the surface- [gas bubbles are trapped underwater at enormous pressure- once at surface, pressure is no longer equalized from within and without- ergo explosion potential]
QNK8e TIL Stu Unger, widely regarded one of the best gin and Texas hold em players of all time, won an estimated $30 million during his poker career. He died with no assets to his name, having lost much of the money betting on horses and sports, and supporting his drug habit.
Wkr0o TIL the world will start running out of water by 2050
wLx5P TIL that in this famous photo of a man being executed in the Vietnam War, both the executioner and the executed have the exact same Family name: Nguyễn. The reason for the brutal summary execution was because he had slit the throats of a military leader and his entire family, all also named Nguyễn.
gbMb TIL: A former President of the University of Chicago said that colleges and universities would “find themselves converted into educational hobo jungles” if Congress made it easier for war veterans to attend those institutions.