› added 1 month ago

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TIL that in 1843, engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel revolutionized shipbuilding by introducing large iron-hulled, screw-propelled ships, helping shift the maritime industry away from traditional wooden sailing vessels.

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0w5Wp TIL country music artist Glen Campbell's heartbreaking song "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" was written for his wife after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
0dWvp TIL Robert Oppenheimer(born in 1904) didn't read newspapers and didn't keep up with the news at all until the 1930's. A native new yorker, he wasn't informed of the 1929 wall street crash until a friend told him, 6 months after the fact
b9BME TIL Saddam Hussein commissioned a calligrapher to write a copy of the Quran using his blood as ink. The 605 page book contains roughly 27 liters of his blood and is kept in a mosque in Iraq behind 3 vault doors.
QJPnE TIL that the Tasmanian Devil will fly into a maniacal rage when threatened by a predator, fighting for a mate, or defending a meal. Early European settlers dubbed it a “devil” after witnessing such displays, which include teeth-baring, lunging, and an array of spine-chilling guttural growls.
bmXp TIL Abraham Lincoln used to tell a long joke about a man carving a turkey at a fancy party who puts so much force into the effort that he rips a huge fart in front of everyone