› added 8 years ago

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TIL the US tried to make cat guided bombs during WWII to hit enemy ships. The hope was that the cat would see the ship as “dry land” and steer the bomb to the target, in an effort to avoid getting wet. The project was abandoned because the cats would lose consciousness in the low G conditions.

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VOEB TIL when skydiver Joan Murray’s parachute failed, she approached the ground at 80 miles (128km) per hour, landing on a mound of fire ants. The shock from being stung over 200 times by the ants released a surge of adrenaline which kept her heart beating, and allowed her to survive.
waEW TIL Vic Mizzy died in 2009 at age 93: his heirs will collect royalties on the Adams Family theme until 2084, including every time it’s played at a sports event.
D1aKP TIL that in 1984, an 18 year old patient named Libby Zion died in a hospital as a result of the resident and intern physicians being too overworked and exhausted to do their jobs properly. This led to the Libby Zion law, which limits resident physicians to an 80 hour work week.
69GkY TIL that reported sightings of members of the lost Franklin Expedition by the Inuit didn’t cease until 1858. Meaning it’s possible that some of the crew survived for 13 years after the expedition entered the arctic, 11 years after the death of Franklin, and 10 years after abandoning their ships
Oowj1 TIL that Mahatama Gandhi modeled his Dandi march from Boston tea party. He always quoted about American struggle for independence in his speeches. He even flavored his tea with salt, while signing Gandhi Irwin Pact to commemorate the influence of Boston Tea Party in his satyagraha.