› added 7 years ago

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TIL the Japanese squadron that bombed Pearl harbour was detected by a prototype Hawaiian Radar before the air raid but no alert was sent out, as nobody believed the inexperienced radar operators.

Read more bom.gov.au

via reddit.com

xVZeb TIL Prince had a bank vault that held enough unreleased music to put out an album every year for a century.
k9QW TIL famous personal trainer/body builder Greg Plitt died earlier this year while filming a commercial for ‘No Fear’ energy drinks. He reportedly assumed a runner’s stance on the tracks as the train approached, and attempted to out-sprint the speeding train to show the effectiveness of the drink.
dDlXE TIL that in the movie Poltergeist they used real skeletons as props because it was cheaper than making plastic fake ones.
B7nL TIL the Wright Brothers hated the first director of the Smithsonian Institution, who claimed that he flew before them. If the Smithsonian ever gives credit to earlier claims of controlled and powered manned flight, the Wright Brothers’ plane must be returned to Orville’s estate.
y9p TIL that the painting American Gothic depicts not a husband and wife, but a farmer standing beside his spinster daughter.