› added 2 years ago

67

TIL after the Tenerife disaster, KLM looked for their most senior pilot to lead the investigation, only to learn that he was the pilot responsible for the crash

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

ADZJw TIL that Standing Bear (c. 1829 – 1908) was a Ponca Native American chief, who successfully argued in U.S. District Court in 1879 in Omaha that Native Americans are "persons within the meaning of the law" and have the right of habeas corpus.
N7xOe TIL that when William Jennens known as the "richest commoner in England" died in 1798, his estate became the subject of a legal dispute that lasted for well over a century until the entire estate had been swallowed by lawyers' fees.
mxn9v TIL William Jennens was the richest commoner in England when he died. He had gone to sign his will but forgot his glasses and brought it home to sign the next day and died before he could. The court case over inheritance was argued for 117 years, until the money was exhausted by legal fees.
LQ6vQ TIL in 1972 a note left in a locker at JFK Airport demanded payment or bombs would go off on 4 TWA planes leaving that day. Police found one bomb but cleared the other TWA flights. The next day a bomb exploded on a TWA plane at McCarran Airport in Vegas - it was one of the planes cleared to leave NY
kO0xg TIL Goodhart's Law, the principle that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. For example, when a government tries to bring down unemployment figures to demonstrate how well the economy is doing, unemployment figures stop being a good measure of the economy.