› added 8 years ago

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TIL that after the death of Ludvig Nobel, brother of Alfred Nobel the inventor of the dynamite, a French newpaper mistook him for his brother and wrote a scathing obituary for Alfred Nobel. This caused Alfred to consider his legacy and caused him to create what today we call the Nobel Prize.

9gw7 TIL after explosion of faulty engine LOT Polish Airlines pilots fought for control of burning aircraft for 30 minutes. They almost made it back to the airport. About 2 minutes from the runway the aircraft crashed into a forest. Last recorded crew message was “Good night! Goodbye! Bye, we’re dying!”
p879p TIL during the battle of Arnhem, after numerous communication failures, a pigeon named William of Orange flew over 400 km (250 miles) for over 4 and a half hours to deliver a message that would end up saving the lives of more than 2000 men. He later earned the Dickins Medal.
e0Y4b Today I learned that Lego creator, Ole Kirk Christiansen, created plastic interlocking bricks in 1949. They were originally named "Automatic Binding Bricks". Lego has kept their original size so all bricks can interlock.
OOO7 TIL that in the 1930s, to control prices, govt placed caps on how much a farmer could produce, claiming that a farmer growing more than that cap, even just to feed his family, was “interstate commerce” because NOT having to buy grain to feed his family would affect prices - the Supreme Court agreed!
v19wx TIL at David Niven's funeral, the largest wreath was from the porters at Heathrow Airport with a card reading "To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. He made a porter feel like a king."