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TIL during World War II, Allied prisoners of war in Colditz Castle built a full-size glider plane in the attic. The plan was to cut a hole in the roof from the attic and then fly the plane to safety. It never flew, but it was completed shortly before the POWs were liberated.

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6EZjX TIL that James H. Dillard was a professor at Tulane University became the best-known and most-active white proponent for the education of blacks. In 1930, two historically black universities in New Orleans combined to form Dillard University, named in his honor.
wojyY TIL during the Apollo Program, NASA had an escape system for launchpad emergencies that led down a literal water slide into an underground bunker called the "Rubber Room" that could shelter up to 20 people for 24 hours
yV1v TIL Elmer Fudd originally wanted to shoot Bugs Bunny with a camera. He was just trying to take wildlife photos when Bugs drove him insane, nearly drowning him…
b9MlQ TIL that clonally transmissible cancers exist. These cancers can be transmitted between individuals without the involvement of an infectious agent (unlike e.g. HPV-associated cervical cancer). They are very rare in humans but more common in dogs, Tasmanian devils and clams.
6LEQ TIL a 5 year old child was sacrificed in Chile after the largest earthquake ever recorded. The two charged were released after 2 years, as the judge ruled they “acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition.”