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TIL - Jane Austen's brother was a war hero and both of her brothers were admirals.

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8ePJP Today I learned that the world's largest living organism is a fungus named Armillaria ostoyae, which covers over 2,200 acres in Oregon's Malheur National Forest. It's estimated to be around 2,400 years old and weighs over 600 tons.
Np7P TIL: Thomas Jefferson invented his “wheel cypher” in the 1790s and a deceptively innovative little device it is. In fact, this machine was so far ahead of its time, it was still in active use in the US military 150 years later at the beginning of WW2.
epOe6 Today I learned “babe I’m gonna leave you”, one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin, was actually a folk song written by Anne Bredon in 1959. Her version sounded quite a bit different but still.
9wJj6 TIL that the US didn't have a unified intelligence agency until 1941, when Royal Navy Admiral John Godfrey, director of Naval Intelligence, met with President Roosevelt and urged its creation. Roosevelt agreed. Godfrey's assistant at the meeting was Lt. Cdr. Ian Fleming, who later wrote James Bond
erDE TIL that in pre-War Germany, it was considered fashionable and a status symbol for young men to have a scar on their left cheek from dueling with swords.