› added 7 years ago

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TIL that a Great Storm devastated England in 1703. The damage included more than 400 destroyed windmills; in some the sails turned so fast that the friction caused the wooden wheels to overheat and catch fire, burning them down.

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9dWm TIL the U.S. Navy has only one ship held captive by another nation. N. Korea took the USS Pueblo in 1968 and uses it as a tourist attraction. The U.S. still lists it as actively commissioned.
VBmVp TIL: At least one player drafted in Top 5 of the NBA draft was named Rookie of the Year, or has made an All-Star Team or All-NBA Team every year since 1976. The highest drafted player who made an All-Star Team that season was Adrian Dantley, who was drafted 6th by the Buffalo Braves.
OLng TIL Haiti and Liechtenstein unknowingly had the same flag until they first met at the 1936 Olympics, this led to the addition of a crown to the the flag of Liechtenstein in 1937.
7rPnM TIL the phrase 'Knock on Wood' derives from the pagan belief that malevolent spirits inhabited wood, and that if you expressed a hope for the future you should touch, or knock on, wood to prevent the spirits from hearing and presumably preventing your hopes from coming true.
BrVYy TIL that reindeer are the only mammals that can see ultraviolet light. This means that they can easily tell the difference between white fur and snow because white fur has much higher contrast. It helps them discover predators early in snowy landscapes.