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97

TIL I learned of the Fermi paradox, which states that if there was intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, they should have visited us by now

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aw6mZ TIL There was a cannon designed to simultaneously shoot two cannonballs connected with a chain to "mow down the enemy somewhat as a scythe cuts wheat". During tests the Gilleland cannon effectively mowed down trees, tore up a cornfield, knocked down a chimney and killed an unfortunate cow.
m1m0R TIL About John Weir Foote a Canadian Army Chaplain from World War II who became the only Canadian Chaplain to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Dieppe Raid. Among his actions were loading wounded onto evacuating craft and staying behind to aid those who could not be moved.
avDZ TIL days after Hurricane Katrina, an 20year old man with extensive criminal history named Jabbar Gibson stole a school bus and picked up around 70 stranded people and drove 13 hours from NO to Houston. The first bus to arrive at the Astrodome.
O6EX TIL Although Black youth are arrested for drug crimes at a rate 10 times higher than whites, Research shows that young African Americans are actually less likely to use drugs and less likely to develop substance use disorders, compared to whites, Native Americans, Hispanics and people of mixed race.
Xn0r TIL Napoleon was sexually obsessed with his mistress Josephine, encouraging her not to bathe for days to retain her own scent, and that she had a signature sex move he called the “zigzag.”