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TIL about rescue buoys used in the English channel in WWII. Designed to provide shelter for the pilots or crew of aircraft shot down or forced to make an emergency landing over water, they contained food, cigarettes, liquor, flares and even board games to pass the time.

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jNe7n TIL the TV show 'Black Mirror' derives its name from the reflection you see in a switched off screen or monitor
N74PP Until the 21st century, birds were largely dismissed as simpletons. How smart can you be with a brain the size of a nut? And yet the more we study bird intelligence, the more those assumptions are breaking down. Studies have shown, for instance, that crows make tools, ravens solve puzzles, and parrots boast a diverse vocabulary. Their brains may be tiny, but birds have been known to outsmart children and apes.
e0DLn TIL Bayer sold blood-clotting agents in the 80s infected with HIV to Asia and Latin America months after withdrawing them from Europe and the US for this very problem
a8pNM TIL that the extremely risky and highly successful first test launch of the Saturn V rocket helped revitalize the US's moon landing ambitions.
ADWdx TIL during Roman spectacles it was popular to reenact historic battles or myths. Sometimes the myth of Icarus would be done by strapping wings on a slave and throwing them from the roof of the stadium. One time the man landed so close to Emporer Nero that he was splattered with his blood.