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TIL Edwin Land set out to invent the Polaroid instant camera in 1943 after his young daughter told him it was stupid that he had to go home first, develop the film at a lab and make prints before she could see a photo of herself

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XEVgR TIL Grizzly bears' muscles suffer no atrophy despite months of inactivity in hibernation; scientists discovered that non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) regulated by particular grizzly bear muscle proteins allowed muscle growth during inactivity.
yQEMX TIL: Despite strong ratings and years of planned additional seasons, the TV series "Gargoyles" was killed because the OJ Simpson trial dragged on for so long and kept pre-empting the series until people weren't sure if it was still airing.
WOmX TIL that before she became the first animal sent into orbit Laika (a stray dog from the streets of Moscow) was taken home by a Russian scientist to play with his children. He said, “I wanted to do something nice for her; she had so little time left to live”.
WkbL4 TIL the longest jury deliberations lasted 4 1/2 months after 6 months of testimony in the McClure vs City of Long Beach trial. Jurors drank before testimony, took unauthorized vacations, and even lied about an illness to see a horse race.
K5ma TIL while searching for drugs in NYC, Jimi Hendrix was kidnapped by"wiseguy wannabes"looking for a quick ransom. When a mobster heard about this, he quickly got them to release him by threatening to kill them. Later the mobster tracked down the kids and “gave them a beating they would never forget”