› added 2 years ago

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TIL that the Convair Model 118, a tentative flying car from 1947, was shelved because its prototype crashed when a test pilot mixed up the flight engine's fuel gauge with the road engine's and didn't see the former run out. While he survived, this killed interest in the project.

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a87A9 TIL over 100 capstones of ancient Egyptian pyramids have been found. Most date from the New Kingdom onward, when building pyramids had stopped being a royal privilege.
awjQZ TIL about the existence of the 'universal S' graffiti symbol. Found in multiple countries and over multiple generations.
O90e TIL in 1868, samurai killed 11 French sailors. Over 30 samurai were ordered to commit suicide for the injustice; when the number was reduced to 20, the indignant samurai cut out their own intestines and flung them at the French. The sentence was then reduced to 11
OoGmg TIL Bedbugs were almost eradicated but are on the rise in the United States.
0wBvj TIL in WW2 when the US Air Force were trying to reduce losses of their bombers, they wanted to add armor to the areas that received the most damage, but a mathematician suggested they add the armor in areas that did not receive damage, as planes shot in those areas never made it back to be analyzed.