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TIL about Larry Walters, who dreamed of flying since he was a child. He was going to join the air force but his poor eyesight disqualified him. On July 2, 1982 he built a homemade airship out of a patio chair and 45 helium balloons and flew for nearly an hour, reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet.

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1a4pX TIL Japan's first prime minister, Ito Hirobumi- who was a great proponent of learning from/building ties with the West- ironically began his political career as the young samurai who burnt the British Legation in Tokyo in 1863. That same year, Japanese modernizers sent Ito to study in the London.
wYGY TIL In the apocryphal Book of Enoch, angels procreate with women and create a giant warrior race. The fallen angels also teach men to make weapons, how to apply eye shadow,and how to make jewelry. The book ends with them being imprisoned, and the earth being destroyed by a flood.
W7NPY TIL of the Tlatelolco massacre, a student protest that led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of people being injured, after the mexican government had snipers firing at the Mexican Armed Forces to make it appear the protest had turned violent and justify the massacre
QO0a TIL Dr. Seuss’s editor bet him $50 that he couldn’t write a children’s book in 50 words or less. Dr. Seuss won the bet with his book Green Eggs and Ham.
yQyMw TIL about "A True Story", the first sci-fi novel written by a Greek-speaking Syrian in the 2nd century AD. This satire is the earliest known work of fiction to include travel to outer space, alien lifeforms, and interplanetary warfare.