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TIL in 2012, university scientists & international investigators purposely crashed a 727 in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico to find out which area of the plane passengers had the greatest chance of survival. The crash revealed passengers seated from the wings & back were more likely to survive a crash.

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via reddit.com

aa9Z TIL from 1181 to 1218, the Khmer Empire was ruled by a Buddhist king whose primary goal was to alleviate the suffering of his subjects. “He suffered from the illnesses of his subjects more than from his own; the pain that affected men’s bodies was for him a spiritual pain, and thus more piercing.”
jNGvE TIL of a pedophile who was arrested after setting his phone to the largest possible font and then sending text messages about molesting children. He did this while on a crowded airplane.
e1Qk TIL that head injuries were so common on Pennyfarthing bicycles that riders would put their feet over the handlebar when going downhill so that they would be thrown off feet-first instead of head-first.
rNa1y TIL the Los Angeles Country Club, estimated land value of 8 billion dollars and the second most valuable non-residential real estate behind Central Park, is hosting the US Open this week for the first time
yRxe TIL The tea-bag was an accidental invention. This occurred in 1908 when tea merchant Thomas Sullivan distributed his tea samples in small, silken bags. His customers, not understanding that these were samples, dunked them and suddenly Sullivan was swamped with orders for his ‘tea bags’!