› added 2 months ago

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TIL: Germany conducted one major paratrooper operation in WWII, the invasion of Crete in 1941. The casualties were so catastrophic that Hitler permanently banned all future large-scale airborne assaults.

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4WRw TIL BMW was forced to recall a female-voiced navigation system on its 5 Series cars in the late 1990s after being flooded with calls from German men saying they refused to take directions from a woman.
KbeJ TIL that while in space astronauts sometimes see random flashes of light caused by cosmic rays hitting the optic nerve. We don’t see it on earth because the magnetosphere protects us from the rays.
9w1xM TIL that lawns cover over 40 million acres in the U.S., more than any single food crop. If just 10% were restored to native plants, it would create a pollinator corridor nearly twice the size of Yellowstone National Park.
9YB8M TIL that in Mongolia, scientists discovered a fossil of a prehistoric creature known as a "Murder Swan," which had a bill with teeth, claws on its feet and additional claws on flipper-like arms.
weLM TIL Steve Jobs’ had a habit of soaking his feet in the toilet and his hygiene was so bad that he was put on the night shift at Atari so he wouldn’t have to interact with people.