› added 6 years ago

147

TIL about Operation Northwoods which was a false flag operation signed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff intended to kill innocent Americans and start a war with Cuba. It was rejected by President Kennedy.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

jNBoE TIL that on December 16, 1965, NASA received a prank transmission from two astronauts: "We have an object, probably in polar orbit... I see a command Module and and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit." They then started playing, "Jingle Bells".
awj7M TIL when artist Peter Doig, whose work sells for up to $26m, refused to authenticate a piece signed Peter Doige, the owner sued Doig for $5million, claiming that Doig simply didn't want to admit he'd painted it in jail. The court agreed it was not his work.
ADWRg TIL that Niki Lauda asked his fellow drivers in 1976 to boycott the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring due to safety concerns even after he was the fastest on the track. Fellow drivers declined and Lauda suffered a crash in the second lap which left him with half face and scalp burned.
MJ9K TIL: Hundreds of Dodge Chargers were destroyed during filming of “The Dukes of Hazard”. This created such a shortage of available cars that by the final season they had to resort to using a radio controlled miniature.
kJep5 TIL that Linoleum is considered to be the first genericized trademark, having lost the ability to obtain trademark protection in the late 1800s — just 14 years after its introduction.