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TIL of Eilmer of Malmesbury. An English monk who, in the 11th century, developed a glider and flew ~200m high. However, a gush of wind crashed him and left him crippled for the rest of his life. He wrote later in life that the reason for the crash was not developing a tail component to the glider.

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Z8jwD TIL the key to American victory in the Revolutionary War was the 75-ton “Great Chain” that stretched across the Hudson River to prevent the British from moving inland. It was such an obstacle, they paid Benedict Arnold £20,000 for the plans to the Chain’s main defenses, at Fort West Point
1D78 TIL the inventor of leaded gasoline also invented Freon. Thomas Midgley, Jr. possessed “an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny.” and “had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth’s history.”
dDXnE TIL about Aaron O’Connell, who in 2010 created the worlds first quantum machine, showing us that objects visible to the naked eye can be in two seperate states at once
vPV07 TIL the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte was approved by Hitler to be the largest tank ever built, it would have weighed over 1000 tonnes and would have destroyed bridges due to it's weight alone
Wk8Gd TIL just how destructive Bradford Pear trees are. They're considered a highly invasive species (it was once thought they would be sterile as a hybrid). They're incredibly weak and are often damaged in storms, so their life span is usually 15-20 years. They're all around bad trees. Plus they stink!