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TIL in 1956 writer Harper Lee received an envelope from family and friends with a year’s salary in it. it read “you have one year off from your job to write whatever you want. Merry Christmas.” She wrote to Kill a Mockingbird which won the Pulitzer Prize and sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

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6EEaJ Yes, it’s true that most jetliners are certified for automatic landings, called “autolands” in pilot-speak. But in practice they are rare. Fewer than 1 percent of landings are performed automatically, and the fine print of setting up and managing one of these landings is something I could talk about all day. If it were as easy as pressing a button, I wouldn’t need to practice them twice a year in the simulator or periodically review those tabbed, highlighted pages in my manuals. In a lot of respects, automatic landings are more work-intensive than those performed by hand. The technology is there if you need it for that foggy arrival in Buenos Aires with the visibility sitting at zero, but it’s anything but simple.
dQAE TIL Supernatural fans used the hash tag #LuciferIsComing for the 5th season premiere when Lucifer is released, but unaware Twitter users responded with numerous #GodIsHere hash tags, leading both topics to be blocked from Twitter.
d8GLK TIL that Cosmonauts used to bring a triple barreled pistol on space missions, mainly for the purpose of defending against Siberian wildlife. It fired both Shotgun and AK-74 ammunition.
j6jJv TIL there was a period when in Mexico graves were for subscription. Stop paying and your ancestors will be dug up
8a8QZ TIL the ship HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen was ordered to return to Australia after a Japanese attack. To avoid another ambush the crew camouflaged the ship with jungle foliage to give the impression of a small island and traveled only at night. It was the only ship of its class to successfully arrive.