› added 8 years ago

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TIL of Douglas Bader, a British World War 2 pilot who had more than 22 aerial victories, survived being a P.O.W whilst attempting multiple escapes, befriended a German ace pilot... All whilst missing both his legs.

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8PE4 TIL that during WWII, notorious American mobster Meyer Lansky broke up Nazi sympathizer meetings, protected U.S. ships during construction and watched out for German saboteurs on U.S. submarines along the Caribbean coastline.
GYj9j TIL That Reverse Racing was a huge and very challenging motor sport in the Netherlands thanks to the sale of DAF cars that had no speed limit for driving in reverse. It was eventually stopped because those cars were becoming collectors items and the sport was considered too dangerous.
nejQB TIL When Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, died in 1982, the show had an episode where Mr. Hooper died. The writers extensively researched how to teach young kids about death. The episode aired on Thanksgiving 1983 so parents were home to discuss it with their kids. It never reran.
OyrL TIL The Matrix’ government lobby scene was real. There is no CGI in the scene, just the actors with special effects–all the explosions are real. The office building was a real set, the helicopter on wires, all the firing, real as well as the water pouring in all over the place.
XBgX TIL Coke Freestyle machines send daily feedback on the drink combinations dispensed to help product designers find the “next big flavor”.