› added 4 years ago

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TIL about gleaning, collecting leftover crops from farmers fields after they have been commercially harvested or not profitable to harvest. It is described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legally enforced entitlement of the poor in a number of Christian kingdoms

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epBJb TIL The USS Indianapolis delivered the enriched uranium and parts for the "Little Boy" atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but no one onboard knew the contents of this cargo. The uranium was secretly monitored by a radiologist throughout the trip to make sure the sailors would not be poisoned.
j66wv TIL that studies show alcoholism can be attributed to genetics
loDda TIL in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, orphanages would fill trains up with orphans. These trains would stop to have prospective parents evaluate the children for adoption.
looOV TIL that gravity has speed, and the speed of gravity appears to be the same as the speed of light
b9vjQ TIL The US government recruited over 1600 Nazi scientists, engineers, and technicians, in what is know as Operation Paperclip, in an effort to win the space race