› added 11 months ago

45

TIL TWA flight 800, a Boeing 707, crashed during takeoff in Rome in 1964 after a thrust reverser deployed during it's takeoff roll, causing it to ovverun and hit construction equipment at the end of the runway, killing 49. this is not to be confused with the 1996 crash of TWA 800.

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78Bvb TIL of Mary Somerville, a Scottish writer, polymath and the world's first ever scientist, the person for whom the word 'scientist' was invented. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and was admitted as one of the first female members of the Royal Astronomical Society
VBkwk TIL When General Patrick Cleburne passed St. John's Episcopal Church, he commented that "it would be worth dying to be buried in a place so beautiful." Two days later he was killed in battle, and his body was laid to rest in the churchyard of St. John's Episcopal Church.
xVBpw TIL that "Granny Smith" namesake of the apple, was a real person. Maria Ann "Granny" Smith first cultivated her famous apple tree after throwing away tazmanian crabapples' seeds and cores while baking a pie, and taking care of the tree that sprouted as a result
OoB8a TIL: Chocolate for most of its 4,000-year history was actually consumed as a bitter beverage rather than as a sweet edible treat
dDJOQ TIL Stephen King once threw away the manuscript for Carrie, believing it wasn’t good enough. He was living in a trailer with his wife, Tabitha, who found the pages in the trash, read them, and pushed him to finish and submit it. The novel launched his career.