› added 5 years ago

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TIL that eccentric aviator Howard Hughes once paid a gas station employee $156 million after he found Hughes, disheveled and dirty, lying on the highway, and drove him back to his hotel

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mxaYP TIL notorious criminal John Dillinger served a stint as a sailor aboard the battleship USS Utah, which long after he left the service, was destroyed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. She still rests in the Harbor today as a lesser known memorial compared to the USS Arizona.
a8ERA TIL the smell of freshly cut grass is actually a distress signal. When grass blades are cut, they release green leaf volatiles (GLVs).It alerts the plant to damage so it can mobilize repair. GLVs are also airborne messages warning neighboring plants of danger.
vPgvx TIL that in June 1885, after a stormy 27-day voyage, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York in 350 crated pieces. At its October 1886 dedication, traders tossed ticker tape from windows, beginning the New York tradition of the ticker-tape parade.
ZyvD TIL that “Breaking Bad” writer and director Vince Gilligan became a professional writer after submitting a fan script to “The X-Files” for its 2nd season. It became an episode and he went on to be a regular writer and producer on the X-Files.
X0ARD TIL German Submarine U-505 was secretly captured by the US Navy on 4 June 1944 by Task Group 22.3. The crew attempted to scuttle it & a US 8-man boarding party rushed inside and were able to keep it afloat to be towed 3,150 km back to Bermuda. Capture of the ship was kept secret until after the war.