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TIL of Operation Looking Glass, the code name for an airborne US command and control centre that would take charge of the response if all US ground bases were lost due to nuclear war. They started with 5 Boeing KC-135's and a plane was in the air 24/7, 365 days a year, for nearly 30 years.

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dJwQ TIL that US police detectives have worn suits for more than 100 years. Dressing formally is “psychological armor”; it “establishes a barrier between them and the messiness” of police work, says a psychologist.
e046n TIL of the Secession of the Plebs. A form of protest where Rome's non-aristocratic citizens would leave the city en masse leaving the aristocratic Patricians to fend for themselves.
KwA9 TIL that in 1979, a woman jumped off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and survived. A strong gust of wind blew her right back to the building at the 85th floor.
XrbE TIL The first man to finish the 1904 Olympics marathon rode in a car most of the way. The winner was carried across the finish line after ingesting poison. Fourth place took a nap en route. One of the two first black Olympians came in ninth after being chased a mile off course by wild dogs.
Oop8L TIL that “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was written by composer Frank Loesser in 1944 for he and his wife to sing at the end of their housewarming party as a way to tell guests it was time to leave. Afterwards, they were invited to tons of parties with the expectation of the song being the closing act.