› added 6 years ago

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TIL about Robert Smalls, a former slave who escaped by stealing a Confederate gunship, The CSS Planter. He did it by giving the correct signals at checkpoints, fooling Confederate onlookers from shore. After gaining his freedom, he became a successful businessman, publisher, & politician.

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e0Ng5 TIL In WW2 on D Day, the Germans had a devastating thermobaric weapon called Taifun B, based on kerosene & coal dust, to be delivered over the battlefield by rocket propelled canisters. They positioned it in Calais, so it didn’t get used against the landings.
BraKx TIL of the myth that during Neil Armstrong's moon walk he said "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky," in reference to a childhood neighbor whose wife said she'd perform oral sex on her husband "when the kid next door walks on the moon." The myth originated from a Buddy Hackett comedy routine.
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