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TIL Jimmy Stewart, already a famous movie star, enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general

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YdLP TIL that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have given over $33bn in grants to health programmes around the world. Its work focuses on prevention, immunisation and vaccination.
pYYbO TIL after a disastrous flaw and costly repairs to the Hubble telescope dented public trust, Bob Williams was called crazy to bet his job and 10 precious days for observing "nothing" near the Big Dipper. The result was revolutionary beyond imagination, the first Hubble Deep Field photo
EErw TIL when she was the First Lady, Barbara Bush called the Simpsons “the dumbest thing I had ever seen”. She received letter from Marge Simpson which moved her so much, she wrote back apologizing.
ANmD4 TIL Ancient Egyptians created hundreds of thousands of vessels out of stone, from the predynastic period onward. At the start of the Old Kingdom focus shifted away from stone vessels towards other stone-based displays such as pyramids, statues and sarcophagi.
xVlW7 TIL that during WWII, the large crosswelded metal beams that covered the beaches of Normandy on D-day are called Hemmbalken, and were supposed to wreck landing craft that were expected to attack during high tide. The Allies instead charged while exposed during low tide.