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TIL The Manhatten Project raised background radiation levels so much, that for a long time geiger counters were built out of pre-1940s steel, mainly salvaged from sunken battleships

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v1DGR TIL that George Washington ordered the entire Continental Army inoculated against smallpox despite popular resistance to the practice
nepBY TIL that the Australian government owns all Koalas like how China owns all pandas.
lmx1 TIL that Robin Williams paid a surprise visit to a paralyzed Christopher Reeve (Superman), just before the latter was scheduled for an operation; Robin showed up in a yellow gown pretending to be an eccentric Russian proctologist and said he was going to perform a rectal exam on him. Reeve laughed.
QJlJ6 TIL Roman persecutions didn't kill as many Christians as many people assume -- "no more than a few thousand" over three centuries. Contrast that with the up to 10,000 Christians killed by their Christian brothers in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in the 1572.
JQK1 TIL the famed black opera singer, Marian Anderson, while performing at Princeton’s concert Hall, was refused lodging at the nearest inn because of her race. Upon hearing this, one local invited her to stay at his home. That man’s name? Albert Einstein.