› added 12 years ago

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TIL Winston Churchill enjoyed bricklaying in his spare time and built several walls at his house at Chartwell.

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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.
a80WN TIL that manatees use their farts to swim. They hold in their gas to help them get closer to the surface of the ocean, and then expel it to help them travel back down to the bottom.
b6j6N TIL about a 747 hijacking where the jet had to land in Algeria to refuel. The lead flight attendant actually had to buy 6,000 gallons of jet fuel on her personal credit card because the Algerians insisted on payment first
R0g1 TIL the tiles used on the space shuttle dissipate heat so quickly you can actually pick up the tile seconds after it has been in a furnace at 2200 degrees
16wPV TIL that the first woman to fly combat missions was Marie Marvingt, who in 1915 bombed a military base in Germany. In her lifetime, she held four different pilot licenses, unofficially cycled the Tour de France, and was awarded a gold medal "for all sports" by the French Academy of Sports.