› added 11 years ago

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TIL Researchers let 100 paper planes go 23 miles above Germany 2 years ago. Some have since been found in Canada, USA, Australia and South Africa.

Read more projectspaceplanes.com

via reddit.com

wLEn6 TIL of Yap, an island that uses massive stones for currency. It is said that one of these stones which had sunk to the bottom of the ocean while being transported years ago continues to be used as real currency today despite not having been seen since.
oRP9Y TIL that Ernest Shackleton, a polar explorer most well known for the Endurance Expedition, when he led his entire crew out of the Antarctic ice after their ship had been crushed, was one of the men who testified at the British inquiry into the Titanic disaster.
1ablW TIL that Marathonist athletes in the early 1900s used brandy, glasses of bubbly, and strychnine (best known now as rat poison) and sometimes even heroin or cocaine to mask pain, increase aggressiveness, and/or give a quick energy boost during races!
4X1Ko TIL Mike Myers was emotionally needy and difficult during the filming of Wayne's World. The director attempted to calm Myers by having her daughter provide him snacks, and on one occasion he stormed off the set, upset that there was no margarine for his bagel.
4kllR TIL that on 13 July 1985, the US leg of Live Aid was opened by a complete unknown called Bernard Watson - an 18yo high school graduate from Miami Beach with no professional musical experience. He slept outside the stadium for a week to convince Bill Graham - the concert's promoter - to let him play.