› added 5 years ago

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TIL only three people were trained to pack the parachutes used in Apollo. NASA forbade them from riding in the same car.

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LQ1wr TIL: Unsolved Mysteries has Helped Solve Over 260 Cases
8nw8 TIL the most successful pirate of all time was a Chinese prostitute called Ching Shih. She commanded over 1,800 ships and up to 200,000 pirates. She was one of the few pirates to actually retire.
oByb7 TIL that ever since the first atomic bomb tests, the air is contaminated with enough radioactive particles to make modern steel useless in highly sensitive radiological instruments. Today, only steel made before these tests, such as from sunken warships, can be used to make such devices.
VMGvG TIL of the first English teacher in Japan — Ranald MacDonald. A bank clerk turned sailor, he taught 14 samurai English while he was held as prisoner.
loQlA TIL that the Seminole Tribe of Florida generated so much revenue from opening tax-free smoke shops and organizing high-stakes bingo games that in 2007 they bought Hard Rock Cafe International. The tribe still owns it today, with 180 Restaurants, 24 Hotels, and 11 Casinos in 74 different countries.