› added 6 years ago

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TIL there is a race in Canada where people are racing in boats made of giant pumpkins.

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via reddit.com

LkRnv TIL that Samuel Pepys kissed the 200 year old corpse of Henry V's wife, Queen Katherine of Valois, on the "lips" whilst visiting Westminster Abbey.
rNMvw TIL a company that made smart airline suitcases had to shut down operations after several major airlines banned luggage with non-removable batteries to reduce the risk of battery fires. The company claims they had sold around 65,000 suitcases around the time of the ban.
a89Z9 TIL about Phobos 1, a Soviet space probe launched to study Mars' moon. It shut down before ever reaching Mars because a technician left out a single hyphen in one of the keyed commands. All commands were supposed to be proofread by a computer before being transmitted, but the computer malfunctioned.
4X0jo TIL that every then-living ex-President of the United States - Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan - was offered a guest role in The Simpsons episode Krusty Gets Kancelled. Only Ronald Reagan responded to the offer, politely declining.
v1ZYB TIL that K2, the second highest mountain on Earth, is considered the deadliest with approximately one person dying while attempting to climb it for every four who successfully reach the summit.