› added 4 years ago

97

TIL that Ben Sliney, former FAA National Operations Manager, made the choice to ground all planes in US airspace on his first day on the job, September 11, 2001.

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ADLa4 TIL In addition to being the second largest country on earth, Canada’s coastline is the longest in the world. At 243,042 km, it is over four times longer than the number two country (Indonesia), and six times longer than the earth’s circumference.
YpXYB TIL In 1970, the agency running the new public television network in Mississippi initially voted to not show Sesame Street on the basis of the show being racially integrated. Public pressure when this was leaked forced them to reverse the decision.
4dwo TIL that Cincinnatus, a farmer who was made dictator of Rome and gave up power after 15 days, was made dictator again and again gave up power after crushing a coup. His son was tried for incompetence, but was let go because no one wanted to give the news to Cincinnatus and break his heart.
x60Ek TIL that the oldest flood myth is likely the Epic of Gilgamesh. Written on 12 stone tablets, it's one of the first pieces of literature in recorded history. The old Sumerian king searches for immortality and encounters someone who built a ship - the Preserver of Life - to outlast the Great Flood.
wJjP TIL that according to Elon Musk, Top Gear completely faked their segment on Tesla and had in fact scripted the “breakdown” after which they pretended the car had to be pushed back to the garage before even receiving the car