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TIL In 1955 a runaway light plane took off by itself and spent 3 hours flying unpiloted over Sydney, Australia. Three separate Airforce attempts to shoot it down failed, before two Navy pilots made a successful 'kill' 5 miles offshore.

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via reddit.com

5kOP TIL that after the fall of the Roman Empire the technology to make concrete was lost for 1000 years.
6Ywm TIL the iconic whistling in Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was originally a mistake. The song lyrics accidentally fell to the floor during the recording session and because studio time was running out, Redding improvised a whistled tune on the spot.
rRxVd TIL that Marlon Brando improvised the orange peel scene in the Godfather Part 1. Coppola revealed: "“[Brando] said, ‘Here’s how I play with kids,’ and took an orange peel, cut it into pieces that looked like fangs and slipped them into his mouth.”
a8nbJ TIL a German fighter pilot ended up escorting a heavily-damaged American bomber out of German airspace in 1943 after he saw the bomber pilot struggling with the plane and his shattered crew. After 50 years, the two pilots found each other and became close friends
0bdp TIL India has a zero rupee note that is mainly used by angry citizens in response to governmental functionaries that want bribes in return for use of free services. It’s still in circulation to this date.