› added 12 years ago

76

TIL some bombers such as B-52 Stratofortress are designed to “Fail deadly” meaning they are guaranteed to detonate their nuclear payload if they are hit and fall below a certain altitude to discourage the enemy from shooting them down in the first place

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

e0WvD TIL Chinese Pidgin English. Used for 200 years in Chinese ports, the language mix Chinese syntax and English words creating a grammar like: "Chinese man very great rogue truly, but have fashion, no can help". Some expressions were introduced back into English: "Long time no see"; "No money no talk".
8kgZ TIL- Emperor Hirohito of Japan was a huge fan of Mickey Mouse. He was given a Mickey Mouse watch as a gift during his special tour of Disneyland in 1975. For years, even on formal occasions, His Majesty was observed wearing the watch.
WkE54 TIL Dr. Patricia Bath restored sight to millions of people suffering from cataracts thanks to her invention of the the Laserphaco Probe. Among her multiple firsts - first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology and first African-American female doctor to receive a medical patent.
KYo9 TIL Leo Tolstoy wrote a book in 1908 called “Letter to a Hindu” in which he argued that the only way for India to gain independence from Britain was through non-violent resistance. Gandhi read this book and others by Tolstoy. They struck up a correspondence and the course of history was changed.
awlLM TIL that in 1988 the UK banned a song for saying two groups of Irish people had been tortured into wrongful convictions. 3 years later it was found to be true and they were released.