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TIL the US Army Signal Corp(USASC) successfully bounced radar signals off the moon in 1946, paving the way for future space communication

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l7vE5 TIL windshield wipers were originally invented by Mary Anderson in 1903. They were originally intended to be used for trolley cars, but she could not get any companies to use them. Cadillac began using the invention on cars in 1922 but she did not profit from the invention as the patent had expired.
WkmQ9 TIL that slaveholders in the US knew that enslaved people were escaping to Mexico, the U.S. tried to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, but Mexico refused to sign such a treaty, insisting that all enslaved people were free once they set foot on Mexican soil.
JngV TIL In 1939, Władysław Szpilman, known from “The Pianist”, was in the middle of performing a Chopin piece when German fire on Polish Radio’s studio forced him to stop playing. This was Poland’s last live music broadcast until 1945, when he opened the first broadcast by picking up where he left off.
4kebR TIL 18 aircraft from the US Army Air Forces' 100th Bombardment Group were sent on an Allied bombing raid on Münster, Germany in 1943. 5 were forced to turn back before reaching Münster & of the 13 that carried on, only 1 plane returned to base. The group became known as the "Bloody Hundredth."
we87 TIL A koi fish, named “Hanako”, was owned by several individuals over many years and lived to be 226 years old, dying in 1977.