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TIL José Saramago, one of Portugal's best-known writers, was a mechanical locksmith who hadn't even been to high school.

Read more josesaramago.org

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PYRWZ TIL Bangladesh is the most populous country to not win an Olympic medal with a population of 170 Million. Whereas San Marino is the least populous country to win an Olympic medal with a population of only 34 Thousand.
50En TIL “Stagecoach” Mary Fields, a former slave and the 1st African-American woman mail carrier employed by the US. Had a running bet at any bar for $5 and a glass of whiskey, she could knock out any cowboy with 1 punch. After 3 or 4 cowboys tried to take her up on it, nobody ever tried again.
m40E TIL the KISS logo was hand-drawn by the band’s vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley on his kitchen table in 1973, and the imperfect lettering has only changed in Germany where it was said to glorify the Nazi SS logo.
ZpPWp TIL that Scientists observed a wild orangutan (‘Rakus’) locate a plant used in SE Asia for pain & inflammation, pluck & chew up its leaves, apply plant juices to an injury on its right cheek, and then use the chewed plant as a bandage. Photos showed his wound closed within a month without problems:
VB5x8 TIL that during WWII, B.F. Skinner’s Project Pigeon trained homing pigeons as missile pilots. Trained to peck a target image on a screen in a missile’s nose cone, their pecks steered the fins to guide bombs toward enemy ships amid battle chaos until radar guidance replaced the project.