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279

TIL the fax machine was invented before the telephone

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kJGL7 TIL the CIA struggled to recruit candidates who had visible tattoos because such markings made agents easier to identify. This rule has been relaxed, but it once limited their ability to hire otherwise qualified applicants.
W71N4 TIL about Jørgensen's law: in ancient Greek poetry, characters are usually unaware of the specific actions of the gods, unlike the audience, and thus tend to attribute miracles to "the gods" or "a daimon" or "Zeus."
Kr16 TIL that English is Louis C.K.’s second language. He was raised in Mexico and exclusively spoke Spanish until age seven.
kQAd TIL Early toxicity tests of Penicillin were performed on live mice. Had the tests been run on the other animals at hand (guinea pigs), we might not be using the antibiotic today, because Penicillin is toxic to guinea pigs.
4k0e6 TIL that the first recorded attempt at flight was made by a monk named Eilmer of Malmesbury in 1010. Using wings attached to his arms, he jumped from a tower and flew for a short distance before crashing. This experiment predates the Wright brothers by nearly 900 years.