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TIL that Black History month’s origin is from Black History Week starting in 1926. The 2nd week of February was picked bc of the Feb birthdays of President Lincoln and F. Douglass, who were regarded back then as pioneers for civil rights. Black History month was then formally adopted in 1976.

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5YJ4r TIL that the containment structure built during the Chernobyl disaster to prevent further release of radioactive material was the largest civil engineering feat in history, involving a quarter of a million construction workers who all reached their official lifetime limits for radiation.
W7eeY TIL that the United States Air Force along with the UN carpet bombed Korea for years, specifically targeting civilian structures, and destroyed ~85 percent of all buildings. It is estimated that 20 percent of the entire (north and south) population died as a result of the war.
p8lxN TIL the nematomorph parasite attaches itself to a cricket, but needs an aquatic habitat to survive. To achieve this, the parasite induces the cricket into a water dive, which is a suicidal impulse to drown itself.
xrYw TIL R. Lee Ermey was initially hired only to be the technical advisor on the set of Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick changed his mind after Ermey put together an instructional tape, in which he went on an extended tirade towards several extras
PyJJ TIL the two singers in the holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” are identified as “mouse” and “wolf” on the printed score.