› added 4 years ago

61

TIL the Turkish Straits crisis was an opening salvo of the Cold War, as the Soviet Union tried to take over two key channels in order to control Black Sea naval traffic. Stalin threatened to invade Turkey from the Balkans, prompting the Truman Doctrine of capitalist aid that put the country in NATO

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

JYKb8 TIL The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed an estimated 675,000 Americans (far more than the 53,402 who died in combat in World War I). The impact was so profound as to depress average life expectancy in the U.S. by >10 years & may have played a significant role in ending the World War 1 conflict.
Lk9Dr TIL sound travels at about 1,080 feet per second in a fog bank. Steamboat captains, rounding off to 1,000 feet for safety, would listen for the echo from their steam whistle to tell how far from shore they were in a fog. An echo heard 1 second after whistle means the boat was 500 ft from shore.
Rv7l TIL there is an American cemetary hidden in northern France that contains the “dishonored dead;” dozens of US service members executed for war crimes committed during WWII
nW7nP TIL In order to work in the CIA cafeteria, a candidate needs to pass a Top Secret SCI background check.
NXnDM TIL Babe Ruth during his playing career never wore the Yankees home jersey with the interlocking NY (same as today). That was introduced in 1936 when Ruth was already retired. As a player he only wore the plain pinstripes at home.