› added 7 years ago

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Today I learned the "Tanks" got their name because the British during WW1 were trying to keep the new weapons a secret and hid them in crates marked "tanks", telling people that they were just water tanks that were being delivered.

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woo07 TIL of US Colonel John Stopp who conducted a series of G-Force tests in the late 40’s and early 50’s. He holds the world record for most G’s pulled on land, after traveling 632mph (1017 km/h) on a sled track in New Mexico on Dec 10, 1954. Stopping in 1.4 seconds he experienced 46.2 Gs
v1QoD TIL how the "I am not a robot" button works.
reRW TIL that Kevin Buddin, an amateur herpetologist, captured a six foot Taipan (the third most venomous land snake in the world) alive and, after being bitten, stopped locals from killing it. He died from the bite, but the snake was milked to provide the first Taipan anti-venom.
8ajmG TIL of Operation Tracer, a plan to seal six members of the British Navy in a cave to monitor the Germans if they took over the Gibraltar base and tunnel system. One of the few involved and aware of the project was Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond.
8aOEG TIL, if you were able to travel from the Earth to a distance of 8.3 BILLION Light Years, you would cross the Cosmic Point of No Return, where you would NEVER be able to make it back to Earth, even if you somehow traveled the speed of light.