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TIL a US cargo plane crashed while moving children from Vietnam. American businessman Robert Macauley heard that it would take over a week to evacuate the survivors, so he chartered a Boeing 747 and arranged for 300 orphaned children to leave the country, paying for the trip by mortgaging his house.

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rlyx TIL a tree, believed to be at least 3000 years old was cut down in 1964 by a grad student. The reason why is still in dispute. The tree was later proven to be at least 4864 years old and likely more than 5000. It was more than 1000 years old when the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.
Wk6eN TIL there’s a type of honey called "mad honey," which causes hallucinations. Honey hunters in Nepal make dangerous vertical climbs to harvest it since it sells for $60-80 a pound
WGXB TIL The U.S. Department of Education prohibits schools from spending money on D.A.R.E. because studies have proven it to be a completely ineffective program.
BrVKe TIL that in Star Trek, Captain Kirk's phrase "You have the conn" has its origins in early battleships dating as far back as the 1860s; these ships were built with conning towers. A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine from which an officer in charge can issue commands.
4kMbw TIL The only plane permitted to fly on 9/11 after the attacks was a plane flying from San Diego to Miami to deliver anti-venom to a man bitten by a highly poisonous snake; it was escorted by two fighter jets