› added 5 years ago

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TIL of South Korean Pastor Chun Ki-won who orchestrated the escape of over 1,200 North Koreans. North Koreans caught in China are immediately deported back to North Korea; so Chun Ki-won smuggled them thousands of miles to Thailand where they can safely claim asylum.

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ep0y4 TIL sea otters were extinct in Washington State between 1910 and 1965. The current population originally came from Alaska and they were evacuated from areas where the US was testing nuclear bombs between 1965 and 1972
Meg1V TIL in 378BC, 30K Spartans invaded Thebes and were met by 20K Athenians deployed on an open hill. When the armies reached 200m apart, the Athenian general ordered his men to stand at ease (spears up, shields down) which they did with such precision and confidence as to cause the Spartans to retreat.
kJkr7 TIL in the early 1970s Boeing proposed an oil carrier aircraft with a 500 ft (150 m) wingspan, powered by 12 engines from the 747 design. A fleet of aircraft would work around the clock to fly crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to the Pacific coast. The Alaska Pipeline was built instead.
Ooab6 TIL Sara Bareilles wrote "Love Song" in response to her record label demanding that she write a "marketable love song"
Z8NG4 TIL A beluga whale named Hvalimir was found in a Norwegian harbor in 2019 with a camera harness attached leading to speculation of it being a Russian spy whale. Russia did not deny claims that it is a possible escapee from their Navy. It now resides peacefully in the harbor seeking human contact.