› added 6 years ago

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TIL that because the Space Shuttle was so hard to land (it was nicknamed "the flying brick"), shuttle crews must train in a modified Gulfstream with its main landing gears down, its engines in reverse, and its left hand side windows covered.

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nebN9 TIL The US Navy has a Spec Ops team, MK6, comprised of Dolphins and Sea Lions. They're trained to detect enemy divers, attach a device onto their air tank that explodes and alerts personnel of their location.
mxNYy TIL that Swedish blood banks texts donors to notify them whenever their blood helps save a life.
YJQG TIL the International criminal court, in 12 years of existence and in spending over $1 billion, has convicted only 2 people.
WkWg8 TIL during various historical periods, competing instrumentalists tried to produce a more "brilliant" sound, creating "pitch inflation". At the start of the 17th century, pitch levels became so high that singers had severe throat strain, and lutenists and viol players complained of snapped strings
bkv4 TIL that death as a result of shaken vending machines is twice as common as death from a shark attack.