› added 5 years ago

102

TIL of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, an all-black airborne unit. Instead of overseas deployment, they fought wildfires started by Japanese balloon bombs on the US west coast. The "Triple Nickles" parachuted directly into affected areas for half the fires they fought.

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W75eB TIL one of the biggest drug busts in the world was in Sylmar, CA. 20 tons of cocaine, worth $6 billion and about 5% of the world’s annual production, was left unguarded and secured with a $6 padlock.
xVZnw TIL That of the 50 destroyers transferred to the UK and Canada in the 1940 "Destroyers for Bases" deal, 9 were later loaned to the Soviet Union. Of these 9 the USS Herndon (DD-198), commissioned as HMS Churchill (I-45) in 1940; and transferred to Russia as Dyatelnyi in 1944 was the only one sunk.
wLymM TIL that Noshir Gowandia, one of the prinicipal designers of the B-2 bomber is serving time for espionage.
R5MY9 TIL that one of the most quoted lines from Star Trek: The Original Series is “Beam me up, Scotty." It’s been used in merchandise, commercials and other media influenced by the show. Ironically, this exact quote has never actually been said in any Star Trek episode or movie.
9YdjG TIL famed fetish cartoonist, Eric Stanton, shared a studio with Spiderman co-creator, Steve Ditko. The two frequently collaborated on fetish comics. Stanton even contributed to the creation of Spiderman, stating in an interview "I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands".