Post * jNXYE — Curious Curator

› added 4 years ago

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TIL Tom Attridge, the pilot of the first jet aircraft to shoot itself down. He fired two bursts midway through a shallow dive. As the trajectory of the cannon rounds decayed, they ultimately crossed paths with the jet as it continued its descent. Though it was a crash-landing, he survived.

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WkVxB TIL that in 552 AD two monks successfully smuggled silkworm eggs in their walking sticks from China to the Byzantine Empire, essentially ending the silk monopolies of China and Persia, and bringing silk manufacture to Europe

4mGN TIL that in 2005, security guards at Australia’s Parliament House were banned from calling people ‘mate’. The ban lasted one day.

R5v8 TIL that a person’s willpower is directly linked to their glucose levels. So people quitting smoking, when you get a craving just have some jelly beans instead.

1687P TIL kangaroos lack the ability to move backwards. For this reason, the Australian army features the animals on their uniforms.

w701 TIL that Adolf Hitler farted uncontrollably, used cocaine to clear his sinuses, ingested some 28 drugs at a time, and received injections of bull testicle extracts to bolster his libido.