› added 3 years ago

115

TIL The BBC initially refused to play "My Generation" because it did not want to offend people who stutter.

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R4M4 TIL that Soviet Navy officer Vasili Arkhipov prevented the launch of a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and thereby prevented a nuclear war.
6rjJ TIL That the Japanese school year is 240 days long, giving their students three more years of total instruction received compared to an American High School grad.
pYyJG TIL that Garry Shandling was offered his own late night chat show in 1992 but turned it down in order to create a sitcom about a fictionalized version of himself who did take the offer
NPdQ TIL that Mars’ smallest moon, Deimos, has an escape velocity of 5.2M/S, meaning that if you were take a running jump while on it, you will launch off like a slow rocket.
loeR5 TIL that in 1958, Chairman Mao ordered the killing of all sparrows since they threatened crops. It backfired, since the near-extinction of the sparrows lead to more bugs eating crops. This resulted in the deaths of forty-five million people.