› added 11 years ago

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TIL of Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley’s head of security at the World Trade Center, who predicted the 1993 bombings and the 2001 attack. He ignored the Port Authority’s instructions to not evacuate, and saved all but seven of his 2,687 employees. He died in the towers.

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KynE TIL NASA used 3D printing to make rocket engine injector, cutting manufacturing time from 1 year to 4 months and cuts costs by 70%.
woXEJ TIL until 1994, NFL officials used to signal the end of each quarter by shooting a starter pistol
nZvr TIL an Air Canada passenger flight took a detour and dropped from 37,000 feet to 4,000 feet to help find a stranded yacht off the Australian coast. It took the passengers 25 minutes after the emergency beacon was activated to locate the yacht.
6EQ5Z TIL of Russia's "Dead Hand" (aka "Perimeter") automated nuclear defense system. If a large spike in radiation levels was picked up within Russian borders (indicating nuclear detonation), the system would target many different cities and launch nukes. It is believed to still be active.
5yln TIL the whiptail lizard is an all female species, the males have gone completely extinct. They’re not hermaphroditic, the females actually lay, and hatch from unfertilized eggs