› added 5 years ago

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TIL that the SR-71 Blackbird was originally designated as the RS-71, but when president Lyndon B. Johnson mistakenly called it the SR-71 in a public briefing the name was changed, as the president was not normally corrected.

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loxJK TIL of The Hackney Mole Man who was evicted from his house in 2006 after he had secretly hollowed out a web of tunnels and caverns, some 8m (26ft) deep, underneath his London home, ultimately putting the neighbourhood at risk. He denied this, saying: „I tried to dig a wine cellar.“
rNKwd TIL of boxing trainer Charley Goldman who turned Rocky Marciano from a rookie fighter, into an undefeated heavyweight.
bP9j TIL pure Vanilla extract has at least 35% alcohol in it, equal to Jägermeister, and anyone can buy it. Yes it will get your drunk.
b6WPa TIL mines around Spruce Pine, North Carolina are the source of the world's purest form of silicon sand. A series of geological processes that occurred 350m years ago caused the silicon to form almost without impurities. It is highly sought after and is probably in the device you are reading this on.
WklwL TIL Composer Ravel's repeating melody in 'Boléro' was likely caused by a symptom of Alzheimer's disease, which eventually led to his death.