› added 2 months ago

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TIL "ball lightning," which is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, they last longer than a lightning bolt.

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L5AV TIL that GPS is, and will always be free because Korean Air Lines flight 007 was shot down over Russia in 1983
YpLDr TIL That in 1969, Stanford wanted to send the word “Login” wirelessly to become the first word ever sent. They sent the L and the O, then the system crashed. When they started again, they sent the L - making the first three letters ever sent over the internet, “Lol”.
kK0m TIL That when the mummy of Ramses II was sent to France in the mid-1970s, it was actually issued a legal Egyptian passport. Ramses’ occupation? “King (deceased).”
L4lP TIL The sound of Darth Vader mask’s respirator function is trademarked in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under Trademark #77419252 and is officially described in the documentation as “The sound of rhythmic mechanical human breathing created by breathing through a scuba tank regulator.”
aD50 TIL that when fire ants are gathered into a group, they act like a fluid