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TIL during WWII the British govt would issue city-wide blackouts to make it harder for the German’s to hit targets during night raids. Armed with new, secret radar technology, the British spread the myth that eating carrots improved eyesight to explain their newfound success in defending in the dark

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rR7X0 TIL Benjamin Franklin said "In 1736 I lost one of my sons... by the smallpox taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of the parents who omit that operation..."
QNxkM TIL that in Season 1 of The Simpsons, Mr Burns is NOT voiced by Harry Shearer. The character was originated by Christopher Collins, who was also the iconic voices of Starscream and Cobra Commander. He was replaced after reportedly clashing with Sam Simon.
oReKR TIL Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's final task on the moon was to leave a small package of memorial items to Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, and Apollo 1 astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee.
KOQv4 TIL The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is a Christmas tree donated to the people of Britain by the city of Oslo, Norway each year since 1947 as a token of gratitude for British support to Norway during WWII.
16pLX TIL that the first woman to sail around the globe was French botanist Jeanne Baret. She had to disguise herself as a man, and accompanied her collaborator (and secret lover) Phillibert Commerson on the Bougainville expedition. Together they discovered hundreds of new plants.