› added 2 months ago

12

TIL that the Japanese during WW2 evacuated over 5000 troops from Kiska, Alaska in 1943 by using the dense fog to avoid the US Fleet that had come to recapture the island

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

kJBG5 TIL Roald Dahl, the author of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Matilda', was a flying ace in WWII. He shot down at least five fighters (likely more) with little to no formal military training.
YpV6v TIL that dragonfly-like Meganeuropsis permiana which flew around 300 million years ago was 1.5 feet long with a wingspan of 2.5 feet. The biggest insect that has ever existed. If we cloned one today, it would probably suffocate because it needed the 30% Oxygen atmosphere present then (20% now).
L90m TIL That wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men are banned in houston for being a “blight on the aesthetic environment”.
XwgX TIL an MIT geek in the 70’s convinced a record label he had a band recording an album in LA. In reality he mixed the entire thing himself from old homemade demo tapes in a run-down basement in Boston. It only cost a few thousand dollars to create, and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide
kJ855 TIL Giraffes not only just use their long necks to reach for leaves as they are grazers. When they fight for a mate, they swing their necks around at their opponent. The winner is usually the one with the longer neck since there is more torque that is produced.