› added 11 years ago

681

TIL that in order to obtain the vast amounts of titanium needed for the construction of the SR-71, the CIA created fake companies throughout the world to purchase the metal from the biggest supplier, the USSR.

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loDV5 TIL although the United States Mint Police is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies, only one of its officers has died in the line of duty since 1792 - a motorcycle accident in 2005
9eeG TIL that in 1909, dueling with wax bullets became popular. Defeated parties could be “theoretically pronounced dead… and the supposedly fatal results created general merriment.”
Z8n5R TIL that Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President Garfield, probably suffered from neurosyphillis, perhaps caught from a prostitute. He spent several years at a free love commune but could not get any of the women there to sleep with him, even earning the nickname "Charles Git-out"
VMJom TIL at Area 51 Loads of paints and solvents used to make the Stealth bomber and other classified aircraft were set on fire in trenches causing clouds of poisonous smoke for laborers. The smoke resulted in respiratory illness, cancers and rashes. The official response was nothing happened at Area 51
kJYEg TIL "the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown" is a special from 1988 that was meant to be Charles Schulz's most ambitious peanuts special it costed millions of dollars he later commented and said "I wanted this to be my Citizen Kane, but it's not." The special was not well-received upon its airing