› added 6 years ago

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TIL - There's a group of bikers that come to funerals of fallen soldiers to place their bikes and themselves between grieving families and the religious nuts who protest their funerals: The Patriot Guard

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KOYJQ An extraordinary collection of images from Burns Archive shows the extent to which gas masks were promoted as an essential part of everyday life in the early 20th century. It had been 20 years since the end of World War I, when chlorine gas—and, later, mustard gas—had first been used. The estimates of total casualties from this form of chemical warfare are staggering: 88,000 dead and 1,200,000 injured. With war once again on the horizon, Britain and continental Europe began taking early precautions. In 1938, the British government issued 35 million “General Civilian Respirators”. Everyone from ballerinas to surgeons were encouraged to wear the masks.
W70ZB TIL A chess robot in Moscow broke the finger of its 7-year-old human opponent after the boy made a quick move without waiting for the robot to complete its turn.
kO194 TIL The backup crew of Apollo 12 snuck Playboy photos into the wrist-mounted checklist of the flight crew.
Xl7j TIL that the Nintendo DS was the first video game console on Mt. Everest. It was one of the few pieces of electronic equipment that did not fail from the harsh conditions.
6xMm TIL in 458 BC Aeschylus, an ancient Greek tragedian, was killed by a tortoise dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his bald head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile.