› added 2 years ago

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TIL that the moon is 1/400th the size of the sun but also 1/400th the distance from Earth which results in the moon and the sun being the same size in the sky, a coincidence not shared by any other known planet-moon combination.

Read more earthsky.org

via reddit.com

vPmmR TIL that the Germans invaded Norway off of maps from a tourist guidebook. Hitler gave the commanding ground general less than eight hours to plan the invasion so the general picked up a guidebook at a nearby stationary store. Norway resisted for 61 days - the longest of any German defeated nation.
woL1P TIL that during the Vietnam war, soldiers built "gun trucks" on their own to defend supply convoys. These 5-ton behemoths were heavily armored, DEADLY (.50 cal machine guns and mini guns!) and even had names like Brutus, Eve of Destruction, King Kong, Ace of Spades, and The Untouchable.
W9X TIL - Some companies in Europe have “Duvet Days”…contractually allowed allowances where if you dont feel like coming into work for whatever reason, you can just stay in bed. I want to move to Europe!
oLj7 TIL that the International Space Station has been connected to the regular terrestrial Internet since January 22, 2010 when the first unassisted tweet was posted
ajEZ TIL of the Clay Belt, a large area suitable for farming in northern Ontario and Quebec. Although land is free for use and very fertile, settlement attempts repeatedly failed; one farmer gave up because “there are seven months of snow, two months rain, and all the rest is black flies and mosquitoes”.