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TIL that the theory of gravitationally-assisted space travel - which enabled NASA’s Voyager and other missions to explore the solar system - was invented by a summer intern at JPL in 1961. He and his revolutionary idea were initially ignored, and he was not offered a job at JPL or NASA.

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NXG5M TIL that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was informed of Osama Bin Laden’s death before the rest of th world found out. Johnson also made a tweet where he stated that he was proud to be an American, 45 minutes before Bin Laden’s death was announced by the White House.
9QKM TIL Saudi Arabia is working to reverse decades of favoring religious over scientific studies in schools and universities. The country is pouring billions into improving science curricula, endowing new research-oriented universities and establishing scientific agencies.
kO7V4 TIL in 2006 a teenage girl secretly pointed a webcam at her bed and left it running all night, hoping to prove to her mother that her father was molesting her. In spite of the video evidence, the jury voted to acquit because they thought the girl "didn't seem upset enough" during her testimony.
1aDrV TIL Cruentation, the understanding that dead bodies would bleed in the presence of their murderer, was a common belief in the Middle Ages.
kJ7r4 TIL: Movable Type was first invented in China in the 11th Century