› added 11 years ago

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TIL that In 1970, a dead sperm whale on an Oregon beach was blown up with dynamite in an attempt to get rid of the decomposing corpse. Flying debris from the blast destroyed the roof of a nearby car, and onlookers were covered with whale particles.

LkyEp TIL that a baby prince from the Khwarezmian Empire was sold as a slave after the Mongols invaded their land and killed his family. He arrived in Egypt and rose among the ranks until he became king. He then lead the army and served the Mongols one of their first major defeats in history.
mx4Po TIL German airplanes “Stuka” did not make that screaming sound when diving because of their engine , but because they had small fans attached to the front of their landing gear that acted as siren. This will “weaken enemy morale and enhance the intimidation of dive-bombing”
p86RA In Delhi, air quality index (AQI) levels are usually a severe 200 on a good day (anything above 25 is deemed unsafe by World Health Organization). During peak pollution periods last year they soared well into a life-threatening 900 and sometimes off the measurable scale. But as Delhi’s 11m registered cars were taken off the roads and factories and construction were ground to a halt, AQI levels have regularly fallen below 20. The skies are suddenly a rare, piercing blue. Even the birdsong seems louder.
LQEZ0 TIL a song charted for 3 weeks in Billboard in 1979, despite never being sold or played on radio. It was lost for 37 years and thought to be a hoax until a recording was discovered in 2016.
rN7e4 TIL that ice makes a sound as it melts (after holding my ear real close to the bore of a water bottle ╰(´∇`)╯)