› added 2 months ago

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TIL a man named Dennis Hope exploited a loophole in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and claimed ownership of the Moon and has since sold plots of it to over 6 million people, including celebrities and former presidents.

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via reddit.com

kONdB TIL in 1940 the WPA and NYC Tax Department took a picture of nearly every building in the five boroughs of NYC, these were digitized by the NYC Municipal Archives in 2018, collated, and geo-tagged to create a comprehensive streetview of 1940s NYC.
x8v1 TIL in March 1992, after Southwest just started using the “Just Plane Smart” motto, Stevens Aviation, who had been using it for their motto, threatened a trademark lawsuit. Instead of a lawsuit, the CEOs of both companies staged an arm wrestling match for the use of the phrase.
Z8Vo4 TIL that George Lucas told a collaborator that his plan for the ending of Return of the Jedi was to have Luke become the new Darth Vader and destroy the Rebel Fleet. The collaborator liked the idea. Lucas told him he’d only been joking.
e0vAn TIL: "Wolf Tree" is the term used to describe trees that were not cut down during deforestation and left to grow in the new growth forests of New England.
Yp4Zv TIL despite being described in ancient texts as foreign invaders and barbarians; the Hyksos were born in Egypt, had lived there for centuries, practiced international diplomacy, were culturally diverse, and greatly contributed to Egyptian culture. They even introduced the iconic horse and chariot.