› added 7 years ago

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TIL Mel Brooks was in the US Army during WW2 and defused German land mines during the American advance into Germany.

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ZpYDD TIL the Inca Empire had a messenger system so fast it could deliver a message over 300 km (190 miles) in a single day, thanks to a network of elite runners known as "chasquis". It was so efficient that even in Cuzco, hundreds of km away from the sea, the Inca ruler could enjoy fresh fish
b66pE TIL In 2009, two Northwest pilots had their licenses revoked (for at least one year) after they overflew the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport by 150 miles and had to turn around. Pilots said that they were using their laptops in the cockpit and lost track of time and place.
Y7DEx TIL that the WR for deepest scuba dive (332.35 m set by Ahmed Gabr in 2014) is highly controversial and likely faked, as there are far too many discrepancies in the provided proof for the dive, some of which could easily have killed him had he actually dived to that depth
ne069 TIL of Southeastern Provisions, a slaughterhouse in which its owner was reported for weekly deposits of $100K for in-cash-payroll. Many workers were undocumented and not paid for overtime. After a undercover operation, the IRS and ICE raided the site in one of the largest raids in US history.
4ko1X TIL that gasoline was commonly used for dry cleaning clothes in early 1900s American homes. It was also extremely dangerous, forcing the California State Fire Marshal to create a campy PSA video about it in 1941.