› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Geoffrey Tandy, a marine biologist who specialised in cryptogams (algae, moss, etc.), was recruited to a secret British codebreaking organization during WWII because the Ministry of Defence confused “cryptogamist” with “cryptogramist.” Tandy ended up helping to crack the Enigma code anyway.

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M7KPa Today I learned about Jake Adelstein who wrote a news article about a Yakuza boss who made a deal with the FBI to come to the US for a liver transplant, skipping over everyone else on the waiting list.
VME8Z TIL in 1979 there was an unexplainable nuclear explosion near the Prince Edward Islands. It was detected by the Vela Hotel Satellite, but still has yet to be claimed.
XEnKk TIL Kotex, the first-ever brand of sanitary napkins for women, was first manufactured as bandages during WWI. Cellucotton, which was made of wood pulp, was five times as absorbent as cotton bandages but much less expensive. The company needed to find a use for the cellucotton after the war.
VBnV4 TIL in 2007, Jon Lovitz confronted Andy Dick at a restaurant, where Dick claimed he put the Phil Hartman hex on Lovitz, stating he was the next to die. Lovitz and Dick then had a heated encounter, resulting in Lovitz demanding an apology and eventually; smashing Dick's head into the bar.
KYM5R TIL,The son of drug trafficker El Chapo,denied in a hearing where he was formally notified of the U.S. extradition request,that he is the boss's son. He is considered the leader of the Sinaloa cartel's production and export of fentanyl.He faces a life sentence if extradited and imprisoned in the US