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TIL Apollo 17 geologist astronaut Harrison Schmitt served in the U.S. Senate, becoming the only "natural scientist" in the Senate since Thomas Jefferson was Vice-President. Schmitt presently is Adjunct Professor of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaching "Resources from Space"

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9YVBB TIL: An American called Gilbert Bates marched across England after the civil war carrying an American flag on a bet of 1000 dollars that he wouldnt be insulted along the way. He couldnt get to London because of the crowds who supported him.
VMypB TIL That Berlin was split into four zones, after WWII, but the city remained completely enclosed in the Soviet Russian Zone of Germany. Access for the three other countries (USA, Britain + France) was, for a time, by plane over hostile territory.
e0bb4 TIL: Entrepreneur Laura Scudder (1881-1959), a pioneer of marking food with freshness dates & of using chips bags was refused insurance by male agents. After decades she gave up a $9 million offer for her company when the buyer wouldn't guarantee workers' jobs. (A later $6M offer did protect them.)
JOoj TIL that after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, back home in America, because of segregation, Jesse Owens was asked to ride a hotel’s freight elevator to get to a reception being held in his honor.
XE1gX TIL that the first mention of a pen with ink reservoir came in 973 in the region of northwest Africa by Ma'ād al-Mu'izz. He wanted a pen that didn’t get his hand messy. The next mention came in the 17th century by a German inventor, Daniel Schwenter.