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TIL Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Canadian woman, disguised herself as a man to join the Union Army during the American Civil War. She served as a spy, stealing strategic plans from a Virginia fort and burning documents before escaping. Her bravery and cunning made her a legendary figure of the war.

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X0eKX TIL In 2018, 50 years after his Apollo 8 mission, astronaut Bill Anders ridiculed the idea of sending human missions to Mars, calling it "stupid". His former crewmate Frank Borman shares Ander's view, adding that putting colonies on Mars is "nonsense"
v1xdL TIL mannequins in stores or in the front windows of stores are often all white, but this can be changed to increase diversity and support all races
jY7p TIL Astronaut Scott Carpenter Spoke to President Johnson 200 ft below the surface of the ocean, but he was in a decompression chamber with a helium atmosphere and nobody could understand what he was saying.
EgZpX TIL that chimney sweeping in Germany is protected by a "frankly medieval" guild system. The article also talks about the sweeps' involvement in the country's dark past, the legal requirement to let sweeps in and how freelance competition provoked legal backlash (at time of publication)
grwdy TIL the West Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda) is a parasitic tree that sends out roots up to 150m (492ft) to attach themselves to any nearby trees and plants to draw water and nutrients from them. Almost all species are susceptible to attack.