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TIL When billions of dollars in aid flowed to Afghanistan, the money was used to commission an airline to shuttle around UN officials and hire chauffeurs, rather than build local infrastructure or public services

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eEb5 TIL the rover ‘Opportunity’ had an planned 90 day duration of activity. Almost 11 years later it is still functioning and has provided a vast amount of scientific observations.
R7v5j TIL that meteorologists rely in part on data from commercial planes to accurately forecast weather. Under European regulations, all large aircraft must carry Mode-S EHS an enhanced surveillance navigation apparatus. Data collected by this apparatus is used to extrapolate wind speed and temperature.
D1rEV TIL that Southern live oak was a secret weapon of the USS Constitution, one of America's first naval vessels, that was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" after so many cannonballs bounced off her hull because live oak wood is a super dense wood.
KYZNE TIL An anonymous donor provided $30 million to run a housing complex for people struggling with mental illness in Vancouver, covering operating costs for 30 years. The heritage building was once a psychiatric facility, senior housing, and is described as a beautiful "oasis in the middle of the city"
p4pN TIL that royalty use ‘We’ to refer to themselves as a way of showing that they speak on behalf of themselves and the nation. In past times this was also used to indicate that they spoke on behalf of God.