› added 12 years ago

92

TIL that, until it was forcibly suppressed during WWI, German was the second most widely spoken language in the USA, with many local governments, schools, and newspapers operating in German.

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6EEaJ Yes, it’s true that most jetliners are certified for automatic landings, called “autolands” in pilot-speak. But in practice they are rare. Fewer than 1 percent of landings are performed automatically, and the fine print of setting up and managing one of these landings is something I could talk about all day. If it were as easy as pressing a button, I wouldn’t need to practice them twice a year in the simulator or periodically review those tabbed, highlighted pages in my manuals. In a lot of respects, automatic landings are more work-intensive than those performed by hand. The technology is there if you need it for that foggy arrival in Buenos Aires with the visibility sitting at zero, but it’s anything but simple.
xno TIL: A mysterious man placed dozens of tiles on roads all over the Northeastern US and even South America over a period of 20 years. They contain the boggling message: “TOYNBEE IDEA IN MOViE’ 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITER.”
vP5oB TIL The Antarctic Treaty System Has Set Rules for Scientific Exploration from International Entities and Banning Military Involvement in Antarctica Since Going Into Effect in 1961
QNrld TIL opossums and possums are two different types of animals, hence not interchangeable names
EWod TIL of the Holodomor, “Extermination by hunger”, a man-made famine that killed millions in Soviet Ukraine