› added 4 years ago

103

TIL that the Ho Chi Minh trail was not simply a few footpaths but a network of tracks wide enough to drive trucks along, and multiple oil pipelines that by the end of the war had supplied 270,000 tonnes of petroleum to troops in southern Vietnam

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

eZOJ TIL that Mythbuster’s Grant Imahara built the R2-D2 in Star Wars Ep.1&2, and the Energizer Bunny
QnKE TIL North Korea is only the second least free country in the world - it’s beaten by Eritrea, where forced, indefinite and practically unpaid “national service” has been compared to modern slavery.
jNPWp TIL the Berlin Wall was opened accidentally. After being told wrong info, a Soviet spokesman stated that border crossings would be allowed, “immediately”. Crossings were actually planned to be allowed in limited circumstances. Thousands of East Germans then ran to the border and forced it open.
6EgNX TIL of Dipprasad Pun, a Nepalese soldier during the War of Afghanistan who was attacked by 30 insurgents. Believing he was about to die, he expended all 400 rounds of his ammunition, launched 17 grenades, detonated a Claymore mine, and killed an attacker with his tripod, causing them to retreat.
Brn8y TIL that Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga was the man who portrayed Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. in the HBO Series “The Sopranos.” He also acted as a driver and bodyguard for Dr. Don Shirley in the 1960s, which the basis for the 2018 Best Picture Winning Movie “Green Book.” He was portrayed by Viggo Mortensen.