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TIL about Grace Hopper (1906-1992). She was rejected by the Navy during WWII due to her age, her weight-to-height ratio and utility as a mathematics professor. Instead she became a programmer of the Harvard Mark I computer, and later popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages.

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KO7La TIL although considered a once in a generation genius and having contributed an ungodly amount of research towards theoretical physics, Stephen Hawking never received the Nobel prize because his work was theoretical. Apparently it has to be proven to be awarded.
XEAVR TIL Lake Superior's Isle Royale has a lake (Siskiwit) which also has an island (Ryan) which has a seasonal pond (Moose Flats) which contains Moose Boulder making it the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world
XEBDQ TIL Steve Martin leaked his own rider, which includes a roasted chicken to use as a dancing puppet, a pair of swim trunks in case there is a pool onstage, and a booklet called "How to Make Money From the Banjo". (The booklet must be more than two pages long.)
loXXV TIL in 1995 a Nigerian fraudster sold a non-existent airport to a Brazilian bank for $242 million dollars.
5YlxB TIL Cincinnati has a fully-built, but never used subway system from the 1920s complete with over 2 miles of tunnels and untouched stations nearly a century old. There was an attempt to convert it to a light rail system in 2002 by raising taxes half-a-cent for the residents, but voters shot it down.