› added 6 years ago

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TIL that in 1938 early aviator Douglas Corrigan was denied permission to fly from New York to Ierland. Since he was denied he planned to fly to California instead. 28 hours later he arrived in Ireland, telling officials that he must have mistakenly gone the wrong way.

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awr1M TIL Rob DenBleyker, known more as the creator of comic series Cyanide & Happiness, is also the creator of much-loved but much-forgotten Abobe Flash series Stick Death
jNJvj TIL that the inventor of the Popsicle was just an 11-year old kid.
GAWjG TIL about Maximilian I, the last Emperor of Mexico. A member of the House of Habsburg, he acceded to the throne led by the misguided belief that a sham referendum conducted in his favor by the French was legitimate. He was executed by republican forces in 1867, only 3 years after his accesion.
BgbkK TIL the Pagan Kingdom (849–1297 CE), the first Burmese empire which shaped Myanmar, was a hub of Theravāda Buddhism— housing 10,000+ temples. Heavy land donations to religious centres led to massive tax losses. By the 13th century, the weakened kingdom finally fell to the Mongol onslaughts.
rRJxd TIL in Quartz watches, the second hand is rarely aligned perfectly. This is an unintentional indicator that the watch is handmade, because mass machine assembly is required to completely ensure that the second hands align.