› added 9 years ago

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TIL After Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay, a statue of Apple in Russia was taken down to comply with the nation’s anti-gay propaganda law.

Read more theguardian.com

via reddit.com

BgVMK TIL a study in the 1920s found that one out of 17 invertebrates caught in midair is a spider. They can get all the way up into jet streams and survive there for a few weeks.
wMm8 TIL Chuck Yeager - first pilot to exceed Mach 1 - was shot down over France in WW2, taught bomb-making to Resistance groups who helped him, escaped into Spain, argued the high command into letting him back into combat against regulations, then became an Ace (bringing down 5 enemy aircraft) in 1 day.
oBWPo TIL the song “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was supposed to be a ballad, but during a recording session, Hawkins “screamed and grunted” through the whole song because he was drunk. It was his most-successful recording and is in The Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
PYx4n TIL President Martin Van Buren (born Maarten van Buren) was raised in a Dutch community in Kinderhook, New York and grew up speaking Dutch, not learning English until he went to school. As a result, he is the only president in American history to speak English as a second language.
1Drd TIL Venus flytraps were believed to be an alien species because they seemed to grow in places where meteorites were found. It was thought they had been brought to Earth by meteors.