› added 1 year ago

44

TIL that the longest recorded distance a paper airplane has flown is over 226 feet, achieved by a Japanese engineer in 2012

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

OoMOa TIL that during WWI, London was protected by massive lengths of steel cables suspended from observation balloons to guard against air raids. These "balloon aprons" forced pilots to fly above their range or too low to avoid AA fire.
lo6BA TIL that Star Trek's William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols performed the first interracial kiss on TV. At the time polls showed that fewer than 20 percent of Americans agreed with interracial relationships.
1aymW TIL that British police are referred to as "Bobbies" due to the fact that Prime Minister Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police Force for London at Scottland Yard.
5VmxQ TIL the United States runs a program with lasers and lunar reflectors that measure the distance to the moon, started in 1970 - with an accuracy better than 3 centimeters since the 1990s.
XB6Q TIL that profiles of Hitler in the 1930s in Vogue, Life, and Home and Garden praised his refinement, gentle repasts, unpretentious hospitality and love of sweets.