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TIL the captain of US Airways Flight 1549 stated "What a view of the Hudson today" after takeoff, less than a minute before striking birds and being forced to land in the Hudson river

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6mDm TIL Tesla motors received a $465m loan in 2009. Despite rampant skepticism, Tesla paid it back in full by May 2013. It was the first car company to do so.
v10a7 TIL of St. Martin de Porres - the Catholic patron saint of mixed-race people, barbers, innkeepers, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman, Don Juan de Porres and Ana Velázquez, a free woman of African-Native American descent.
l71a1 TIL on December 18th 1944 the US, with approval from Chiang Kai-shek, firebombed the city of Wuhan. The city burned for 3 days and 40,000 civilians were killed.
X0B6 TIL the Greek city of Helike sank in an earthquake in 373 BC, and all of the inhabitants died. Over time, it was silted over and was thought to be legendary until it was rediscovered in 2001.
wLZQ6 TIL that Aretha Franklin's signature song "Respect" was actually written and performed by Otis Redding two years before she first sang it. "Redding's version is a plea from a desperate man, who will give his woman anything she wants... as long as he gets his due respect".