› added 7 years ago

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TIL that the remote Ascension Island in the Atlantic was known as a barren, desert island when it was discovered in the 1700s, but today boasts one of the world's largest artificial forests, planned by Charles Darwin and botanist Joseph Hooker in order to make the island livable.

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via reddit.com

ep4J6 TIL that during the filming of the original Star Wars, R2-D2 often functioned poorly, leading, among other things, to an accidental visit to the set of "Jesus of Nazareth "
QJ8wd TIL of Army pilot Phil Rasmussen, who on the morning of pearl harbor, strapped a .45 to his pajamas and took to the skies to engage Japanese zeroes. He barely managed to land his plane, which some accounts say had over 500 bullet holes.
4Xxnw TIL that the bullet lodged inside President Garfield likely didn't cause his death. At the time, Joseph Lister's ideas about germs had been widely accepted in Europe, but American doctors were still sceptical. Garfield's doctors used unsterilised instruments, causing an infection which killed him.
pYD08 TIL while a woman was mowing the lawn, a 4-ft snake fell out of the sky from nowhere & wrapped around her arm. As she tried to get it off, it tried to bite her face. Then chaos ensued when a hawk swooped down & tried take it off her arm 4 times before succeeding. She then got help for her bloody arm
LQrZV TIL about seasteading, the creation of permanent dwellings in international waters (seasteads) that are independent of governments. No one has yet created a structure recognized as a state. Proposed structures have included modified cruise ships, refitted oil platforms, and custom floating islands.