dDnV7 TIL, in a 1962 operation known as 'Starfish Prime', the United States detonated a nuclear bomb at high altitude, ~900 miles south of Hawai'i. The electromagnetic pulse from the detonation caused bright auroras to appear in the atmosphere over a large area of the Pacific Ocean.
KYeEJ TIL of Bill Biggart, the only photojournalist killed on 9/11. He took his last photo seconds before the North Tower collapsed, burying him and his cameras (with preserved film) in the rubble.
a8mVN TIL that the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador have an unresolved border dispute over 180,000 square kilometres. The dispute originated prior to Newfoundland and Labrador joining Canada in 1949, and continues to resurface periodically.
Zpoyv TIL William Crush organized a publicity stunt involving two unmanned trains crashing into each other head on at 45mph. The impact unexpectedly caused both of the trains' boilers to explode and kill two spectators. Crush was immediately fired from the railroad but was rehired the next day.
78dVM TIL about Point Roberts, Washington, USA which is a penne-enclave - an enclave for practical purposes since it's only accessible on land via Canada
kJXB5 TIL: Fashion designer Oleg Cassini attempted to issue a cease-and-desist to NASA/JPL for naming the Cassini spacecraft, not realizing it was named after 18th century Astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini
EgRYo TIL an actor in Nazi Germany was fired for being Jewish. He grew a beard, dyed all his hair by bathing in diluted hydrogen and returned to the stage claiming to be a self-taught actor. He was praised by the Nazis as "proof of the superiority of Aryan blood."
Y7dgx TIL Pixar had to complete the entire Toy Story 2 in 9 months to meet Disney's deadline, The production was so straining that in one instance, an animator had forgotten to drop his child off at daycare one morning and, in a mental haze, forgot the baby in the back seat of his car in the parking lot.
BgnMy TIL that in 1881, an Egyptian obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle was erected in NYC’s Central Park. Beneath it lies a time capsule holding the 1870 U.S. census, a Bible, Webster’s Dictionary, Shakespeare’s complete works, a guide to Egypt, and the Declaration of Independence.
rNrWd TIL Indonesia tried to leave the UN in 1965 due to Malaysia joining the security council, and tried to form their own rival organization. They fully rejoined the UN in 1966.
NXlGb TIL that in 2022 Jeremy Clarkson wrote that he dreamed of the day Meghan Markle would be paraded naked and pelted with excrement, making reference to a scene from Game of Thrones - despite having referenced the same scene while defending her in 2018, claiming it was what her critics wanted to do.
l7VXK When developing the 1000-horsepower, 400km/h Veyron, Bugatti asked to use the Sauber Formula One team's wind tunnel for high-speed testing. However, the Sauber F1 engineers had no experience with aerodynamics at those speeds, and had to leave the Bugatti engineers to figure it out on their own.