› added 4 years ago

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TIL that meteorologists rely in part on data from commercial planes to accurately forecast weather. Under European regulations, all large aircraft must carry Mode-S EHS an enhanced surveillance navigation apparatus. Data collected by this apparatus is used to extrapolate wind speed and temperature.

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yQEgp TIL that Caesar’s last words to Brutus (‘Kai su, teknon’, literally ‘You too, child’) may have been intended along the lines of ‘See you in hell, punk’, rather than as an expression of shock at being stabbed by one he had treated like a son, because the words ‘kai su’ often appear on curse tablets.
pYNoZ TIL that monarchs have been depicted on British coins since ancient times. But Queen Elizabeth was the first monarch to appear on banknotes of all denominations. During her reign, her image was redrawn 5 times. Her face was first used on a £1 note that was released 8 years after her 1952 ascension.
wLlZ7 TIL Darwin's Beetle (Chiasognathus grantii) have giant mandibles (more than 1/2 their body length) they use to battle males as they climb trees where females are found for a chance to mate. The mandibles can hook rivals under the wings to throw them off the tree, as well as the female after mating.
yQKee TIL on the DVD release of Borat, there is a language option for Hebrew, but choosing it only results in a warning screen reading "You have been trapped, Jew!"
Oo9mR TIL the creative director of the NASA Voyager Golden Record project, Ann Druyan, recorded her brain waves in 1977 when she fell in love with Carl Sagan to be sent into interstellar space with the Voyager Spacecrafts