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TIL In 1953 North Korean air force lieutenant No Kum-Sok (age 21) flew his MiG-15 to the South. Since this fighter plane was then the best the Communist bloc had, No’s defection was considered an intelligence bonanza, and he was awarded the then exorbitant sum of $100,000 ($890,831 in 2014 dollars).

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4XOp6 TIL that an 800 sq. mile region on the border of Egypt and Sudan, Bir Tawil, has a terra nullius status, meaning no country claims the land and has no laws.
oXDR TIL that, while usually remembered for the French Revolution, the guillotine was used extensively by the Nazis during their time in power in Germany. As many were killed with it in Nazi Germany as were killed during the French Reign of Terror, including 10,000 people between 1944 and 1945 alone.
Wjy4 TIL that the FBI assigned a team to Sacha Baron Cohen during the filming of Borat due to numerous reports of a “Middle eastern man traveling the Midwest in an ice cream truck.”
pPbO TIL a surgeon was able to keep a chicken’s heart tissue alive for over 20 years without it being attached to a body, deeming the cells, “immortal.”
69Ay8 TIL: TIL that marshmallows were originally made from a plant called marshmallow (mallows that grew in marshes). The root of the marshmallow plant is high in mucilage, which is a type of gel that gives marshmallows their chewy texture. Today, marshmallows are no longer made from the plant.