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TIL of Nikolay Pirogov, a Russian doctor in the Crimean War. While Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing in the British army, Pirogov founded the discipline of field surgery in the Russian camp. One of the first to use Ether as an anaesthetic, he also invented many other medical operations.

8dnb TIL The Oregon Trail game was created by 3 teachers on a teletype, which became the biggest educational game in history, yet none of the three creators saw a dime in its millions of dollars in profits.
QJV7p TIL that Vanderbilt University, founded in 1873, is named in honor of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million endowment and hoped that his gift and the work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted on the American nation by the Civil War.
ANm1w TIL that Saddam Hussein considered himself to be Nebuchadnezzar, reincarnated. He spent a lot of money trying to restore Babylon and lived in a gigantic replica Babylonian palace, complete with Babylonian esque carvings depicting himself.
PYyGg TIL the Ancient Greeks considered employment (working for hire) to be degrading, "a necessary evil that took time away from leisure, politics, education, and culture, and had little positive value in and of itself."
WPP9 TIL that the FBI ran COINTELPRO, an illegal series of projects operated to suppress “subversive” movements like civil rights (including MLK) or growing third parties. These targets faced tricks like psychological warfare, killings (together with police departments), and slander through newspapers.