› added 8 years ago

121

TIl that after a classified Corona spy satellite’s film capsule was found by Venezuelan farmers and broken open, the US realized that labeling it “Secret” was a bad idea. Later capsules offered in eight languages a reward for returning it to American officials.

Read more thespacereview.com

via reddit.com

XE8Y8 TIL 1979 LeMans winners bought a racetrack (Road Atlanta) and started landing weed-smuggling planes on the straightaway at night to finance their multiple racing teams.
J5vQ TIL that “competitive endurance tickling” is a thing, and that it apparently has a seedy criminal underbelly filled with personal attacks, legal threats, and manipulation
N71ZJ TIL Robin Williams was a huge gamer. Staying up till 2 am playing Battlefield 2, roasting teenagers on Call of Duty, even naming his daughter Zelda after 'The Legend of Zelda.'
4koj6 TIL in case Star Wars was a failure, George Lucas commissioned a low-budget sequel called "Splinter of the Mind's Eye."
pYvKG TIL Bald Eagles get their name from an old English word, "balde”, meaning White. The Latin name for bald eagles is “Haliaeetus leucocephalus” which means “white-headed sea eagle”.