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TIL Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard was placed in command of of a Navy Ship during WW2. He wound up being engaged in combat with absolutely nothing for 68 hours and accidentally conducted live fire exercises on a Mexican Island, which led to him being fired.

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mnXp TIL in 1994, a convicted murderer was granted a retrial after it came to light that four of his jurors had used a Ouija board to consult the victim before rendering a verdict.
Q15a TIL that scientists used to present their research to royal patrons instead of publishing journal articles, and receive gifts in return; the astronomer Tycho Brahe received exotic animals, an island and chemical secrets as well as cash
WX5o TIL Mattel made and sold Wonder Woman’s “invisible jet” as a collectible. The package was an empty plastic shell with nothing inside, and was originally intended as an April Fool’s joke.
epZVb TIL American environmentalist John Francis made the decision to refrain from speaking for a day in order to improve his ability to hear his detractors. He made it into a silent commitment for 17 years. He attended school for those 17 years, even receiving a PhD.
neX8o TIL that Dr. Carlo Urbani recognized the emergence of a outbreak of pneumonia as a new epidemic and immediately notified the WHO, personally flying to Hanoi to investigate. He would die this day in 2003 of SARS, having triggered the most effective response to an epidemic in history.