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TIL President Kennedy's daughter Caroline was given a puppy by the Soviets in 1961. The puppy's mother, Strelka, had earlier been launched into space during Sputnik. JFK's Thank You letter to the Soviets opened a channel of communication that helped divert the Cuban Missile Crisis 16 months later.

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QXaa TIL that Moses and the Israelites probably crossed the “Reed Sea”, not the “Red Sea.” The shallow, now-dry lake bogged down the wheels of the pursuant Egyptian chariots and allowed Moses to escape to the Sinai Peninsula.
9wJ5X TIL darker skin people need more sunlight to make vitamin D. One experiment where a light skinned person was in sunlight for 8 hours saw their vitamin D concentration go up by 50x while a dark skinned person saw no change. They needed 5-10 times the sunlight length and then only saw a 30x change.
yweV TIL Harold Wilson wished for actor Harry H. Corbett to receive an OBE. However, his middle initial was lost in the process and the award instead went to Sooty puppeteer Harry Corbett. Harry H. Corbett had previously added the initial to avoid confusion with the puppeteer.
WMA8 TIL: The first non stop Atlantic flight was by two British airman in 1919, it is almost forgotten about.
4WKg TIL A 66-year-old hiker, who became lost on the Appalachian Trail, kept a journal documenting her 26-day ordeal before succumbing to lack of food and exposure. In one entry, she pleaded “When you find my body, please call my husband and daughter.”