› added 11 years ago

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TIL that in 2010 an unlucky airline passenger was arrested in Ireland after Slovak security officials placed explosives in his luggage for training, then forgot to remove them before the plane took off.

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OoAQY TIL athletes involved in the East German doping program are estimated to suffer from rates of cardiovascular disease or cancer up to five-times higher than the general population and live 10-12 years fewer
1aXEX TIL that when Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was banned from organizing demonstrations, she organized "picnics" and "festivals" instead, drawing up to 10,000 participants.
d87p9 TIL that in 1972, Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack shot a feature-length documentary on Aretha Franklin but forgot to use clapperboards, which made it impossible to sync audio and video and left all of the footage unusable. The film was finally salvaged and released 46 years later.
BrQJL TIL of Dorthy and Herbert Vogel, a teacher and postal worker who donated their 5,000 piece art collection, worth millions, to the National Galley for the public to enjoy for free. In 2008, 2,500 pieces were distributed to all 50 states with each state receiving 50 pieces from the collection.
R5LAa TIL Because tungsten and gold have almost identical weights, fake gold bars and coins made from tungsten cannot be identified by the usual method of density testing, and ultrasound has to be used instead.