› added 5 years ago

200

TIL that Mikhail Gorbachev was the only Soviet leader who was born when the Soviet Union already existed.

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0w0xM TIL that in 1966 a US Air Force B-52 bomber and a USAF tanker collided in midair, and the 4 nuclear bombs the B-52 carried fell into Southeast Spain. One of the bombs detonated, scattering plutonium all over the countryside.
PYBZG TIL Due to US prison regulations, there is a whole manufacturing industry dedicated to clear plastic TVs, radios and CD players without speakers (headset only) and even snacks (The Whole Shabang )
d8g8B TIL: Rusting gears, beams, & wheels on the coast in Marseille show where an innovative ride was. One could pay to use a special cable car that ran underwater. For safety, pro divers went with the tourists as the pods skimmed along the seabed. It opened in 1966, was shut down after around one year.
8e0Qa TIL: There existed elephant duels in SE Asia. Opposing army leaders of equal status would face each other on the battlefield in single combat atop elephants. It was seen as honorable and heroic as it avoided troop losses. The practice died when the Portuguese introduced guns in the 16th century.
oBrEr TIL that on the island of Daphne Major in the Galapagos, scientists watched for the first time a new species form in the wild, it was a new bird species that evolved only within two generations.