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TIL the phrase ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ originated as an absurdist euphemism meant to be sarcastic

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KOwJ4 Papuan tribe that ate brains developed resistance to some brain diseases
Y70od TIL Sparrow Force, a mostly Australian WW 2 unit, was stranded for 10 months on a Japanese-held island, fighting against 100-to-1 odds, with no radio for most of that time. A radio was improvised & sent, “Force intact. Still fighting. Badly need boots, quinine, money, and Tommy-gun ammunition.”
Wk5K9 TIL that Japanese Emperor Hirohito published several scientific papers on marine biology from his laboratory at the Imperial Palace. His contributions included descriptions of several species of hydrozoa new to science.
KOx9w TIL Centenarians tend to be small people, even allowing for shrinkage & secular growth. Okinawans have the greatest concentration of them, 500/million, the average male of which is just 148.3 cm (4'10½") & female 138.8 cm (4'6 1/2½").
VBa0 [TIL] Jazz pianist Fats Waller was kidnapped by Al Capone’s thugs and ordered to play for Capone’s birthday. Three days later, he had earned thousands in tips from Capone and his gangsters.