› added 10 years ago

583

TIL that the Confucius genealogical line as the longest family tree in history, with 86 recorded generations over 2,500 years: the Chinese philosopher (551 to 479 BCE) is thought to have 3 million descendants all over the world.

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wEP8 TIL In 2001 that Wilson, the Volleyball from “Cast Away”, won a BFCA Critic’s Choice Award for Best Inanimate Object.
EggAo TIL that a single engineer in the control room of NASA prevented the astronauts of Apollo 12 from aborting the mission seconds after launch. "Set SCE to AUX", said John Aaron which saved the entire mission.
RnEQ TIL Thomas Edison did not invent the first electric light bulb, but rather became partners with Joseph Wilson Swan who had already developed & patented a working light bulb and Edison just bought him and his patent out. He was a brilliant business man and also kind of a dick.
GYb5E TIL John Boyd Dunlop invented the first (practical) pneumatic tyres to help ease the headaches his son experienced after riding his tricycle over the bumpy cobbled streets of Belfast
oBMBA TIL The United States has 20 aircraft/helicopter carrier ships; the rest of the world combined has 24