› added 1 year ago

27

TIL that proposals for a link between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland were proposed satirically as early as 1799, and seriously from 1886 onwards, but no viable plan for either a bridge or tunnel has ever been put forwards

7rGGX TIL of the Blue Mustang, a 32-foot tall sculpture of a blue horse at Denver International Airport. It was designed by sculptor Luis Jiménez who was unable to complete the project after the head fell on him and severed an artery in his leg, killing him. His staff and family finished the job for him
AD5J7 TIL that after the Russian submarine Kursk sank, a distraught mother of a dead sailor was drugged on camera by an agent with a syringe when she demanded answers from the Navy at a hearing.
LonZ TIL after Steven Spielberg found out nobody would let them film The Terminal in their airport, he had a depiction of the inside of the Düsseldorf International Airport built from the ground up inside a US Air Force hangar.
b9Wnj TIL that the name of the company LEGO comes from the Danish phrase "leg godt", which means "play well". Interestingly, the Latin word "lego" means "I put together", but this is just a coincidence - when LEGO first started, it only made wooden toys.
NvVe TIL King Pepy II came to the throne aged nine, and ruled until he was 100. It is said he had a great system for avoiding insects: he would cover a slave in honey. Flies swarmed to the slave and left Pepy in peace. (x-post /r/heresafunfact)