› added 7 years ago

615

TIL that by law no US officer can outrank George Washington. He was promited to 6 star general in 1976.

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x6o8w TIL the length of the US rail network is twice that of Europe
XQ4r TIL the “AR” in AR-15 is a brand name and stands for “ArmaLite Rifle” not “assault rifle”
AN6j4 TIL Pheasant Island located between Hendaye in France and Irún in Spain, bizarrely changes countries twice a year. This small piece of land, a mere 5,000 square meters in size is fascinating result of historical treaties.
eEX6 TIL Astronaut Ed Mitchell said of his experience on the moon in 1971: “From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.’”
LkeQZ TIL The band Alphaville ("Big in Japan", "Forever Young") is German.