› added 6 years ago

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TIL Lt. Phillip Rasmussen was one of the few American pilots to shoot down a Japanese plane during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was flying an obsolete P-36A in his pajamas! After he was hit, he landed the P-36 without brakes, rudder or tailwheel, and with more than 500 bullet holes.

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oB1kE TIL The only known armed Nazi military operation on North American soil was installation of Weather Station Kurt by a German u-boat team. It was accidentally discovered in 1977.
EgyEd TIL humans ability to digest milk and other dairy products and survive on a vegetable-heavy diet only emerged about 6,000 years ago. Before that, they were meat-eaters.
Ypgrr TIL that Helen Magill White was the first American woman to earn a PhD. Raised by a Quaker father who believed she have the same education as her brothers, Helen attended Boston University, where in 1877, she earned a doctorate in Greek. Her thesis “the Greek Drama” was discovered at Cornell in 2018
vPPvB TIL about the Epley maneuver, a simple and effective treatment for vertigo which involves a sequence of head movements. Doctor John Epley had a hard time convincing other doctors that it was effective despite the ease of application and proven efficacy.
mxJBE TIL that the first independent full-length film written and directed by Steven Spielberg was called "Firefight," (inspired Close Encounters) made on a budget of $500, which then 16 year old Spielberg borrowed from his father. It was shown at a local cinema one evening and it earned back its cost.