› added 5 years ago

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TIL of a professional Scottish sport of haggis hurling that requires that the haggis be in one piece and edible after landing.

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R7Rk9 TIL Israel merged the front half of a damaged rare 2 seat F-15 with the back half of an obsolete retired single seat F15. When they asked Boeing for advice Boeing never responded thinking the Israeli air force was joking.
b9wwp TIL that the nuclear warning systems for both US and Russia aim to detect a nuclear weapons before they hit the target so that a retaliation can be launched before their own weapons are destroyed. The system has given at least 22 false alarms which could have caused a nuclear war.
761L TIL when Mao Zedong received Nikita Khrushchev for a state visit in 1958, he had figured out Khrushchev could not swim. Mao, who loved swimming, decided to hold the meeting in his private swimming pool, forcing Khrushchev to wear floaties while they talked.
wQpP TIL The fireman’s pole came about when a firefighter on the top floor slid down a pole used for binding hay during transport. It prompted his Captain to convince the Chief to install a hole and pole. They were targets of lots of jokes until people realized the company always showed up first.
PYbxL TIL about Boston Corbett, "Lincoln's Avenger". He tracked down and killed John Wilkes Booth, but was arrested for disobeying orders. He was later released, deemed both a "national hero" and "insane" and eventually faded into mysterious whereabouts. It is not known what became of him.