› added 1 year ago

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TIL that before the raid of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, two 1:1 scaled versions of his Pakistani compound were built in the US, for SEALs to practice their raid on. The elevation of these test compounds was also built to be at the same level, to test the affect it would have on the raid helicopters.

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0d8Xj TIL that Apollo 12 astronauts secretly brought a camera timer on the space mission. The two who landed on the moon planned to take a selfie with both of them to mystify people back on Earth. The plan failed when they could not find the timer.
Bgdny TIL the Weird Al song “Bob” is written entirely in palindromes (including the title). It was written in 2002 (a palindrome) and the nonsensical lyrics inspired him to make it a Bob Dylan parody.
v1rKx TIL that at 23 years old, Isaac Newton went into quarantine due to the bubonic plague. During his time in quarantine, he proved the refractive properties of prisms, invented calculus, and was famously hit on the head by an apple.
4mpR TIL in his final days Lyndon B. Johnson would listen to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel repeatedly while agonizing over his legacy; worrying that he would only be remembered for the Vietnam War and not as the architect of equal rights and Medicare.
Lk0Vm TIL A Chinese passenger attempted to open the plane's emergency door to get some air because it was "too hot and stuffy." The door fell off and the evacuation slide was activated. Similar incidents of passengers attempting to open plane doors have been described elsewhere in China.