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TIL that the truck flipping scene/stunt in The Dark Knight didn't use any CGI at all, meaning it was a practical stunt. Nolan used TNT and a piston on the rear base of the 18-wheeler in order to make it flip the way it did in the film. It worked successfully.

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kJnr7 TIL a poorly designed wireless communications system contributed to deaths of 343 firefighters on 9/11. Back then, emergency services ran many different communication systems which couldn't talk to each other, hindering the evacuation of the firefighters and the overall emergency response.
5VQ1k TIL that Windows has an emoji panel if you hit the window button + the period or semicolon button, which can add even complex emojis to text. (⌐■_■)
nWvYG TIL about the 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster, in where grain containing methylmercury never intended for human consumption was imported into Iraq, where it was consumed by Iraqis living in rural areas. The recorded death toll was 459 people, but higher figures have been suggested.
b9gQp TIL In the middle ages some kings had clothes made from "Salamander fur" which were completely fire-proof and bright white. The name likely comes from the common belief that Salamanders were "born from fire". The clothes were actually made out of asbestos.
d8kxd TIL China's Qing Dynasty attempted various reforms to try to save itself. Local assemblies had begun to meet in 1909 and the dynasty had worked out a timetable for creating a constitutional monarchy, with a constitution planned for 1912 and a parliament the following year