› added 9 months ago

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TIL about guayule (pronounced why-OO-lee). An alternative to rubber trees, it has a rubber content of 3% - 7%. It can be grown in hot, desert climates requiring a fraction of the water/fertilizer that rubber trees do. It's also weed, insect and disease resistant. It was used by the US in WW2.

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aw8aA TIL that founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, commanded a submarine during WWII. His performance was "substandard," and he almost started a war with Mexico by ordering his crew to fire on the Coronado Islands.
l7glr TIL that Italian Americans were the second most lynched ethnic group after African Americans.
mx9LO TIL Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar for Gone with the Win, however she was unable to attend the premier in Atlanta at a whites-only theater, sat at a segregated table on the side of the room at the Oscars and was not buried in the Hollywood Cemetery despite her final wish.
M7mXV TIL Pious III was elected Pope on 22 September 1503 and died only 26 days later. During his election, everyone was aware that he was seriously ill, but electing the neutral Pious helped the two rivaling factions in the conclave to buy just enough time to continue their negotiations and politicking
16wo4 TIL there is a group of 737 aircraft operated by "Janet Airlines", a highly classified airline that shuttles military personnel and contractor employees to and from Area 51. The aircraft are generally unmarked, aside from a red cheatline along the windows of the aircraft.