› added 7 years ago

150

TIL before the metric system was adopted, there was over 250,000 different units of measurement in France varying from town to town.

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DWkp TIL Sputnik (The first Soviet test flight into space) Landed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The town now holds a yearly sci-fi festival celebrating the event.
8eByP TIL that the world smallest piloted biplane to fly is the Starr Bumble Bee II with a wingspan of 5 ft 6 in, total length of 8 ft 10 inches and takeoff weight of 260 kg. The record was set by Robert Starr in 1988 when he climbed to 400ft before the engine failed causing a crash.
gMPvW TIL the phrase “The First World War” was used as early as 1918, by a journalist who felt it would not be the last.
r9Py TIL Grandpa Lou in “Rugrats” has a space-themed porn stash.
R7vAQ TIL the man on the cover of Matchbox 20's "Yourself or Someone Like You" sued the band for unapproved image usage 9 years after the album's release. The delay was because the man was never told the purpose of posing for the photo, and wasn't aware of the album during its original 12m+ sales run