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TIL the story of Eric Betzig, who conceived the idea for the world's first super-resolution microscope while unemployed after quitting his job at Bell Labs due to being frustrated with the scientific community. He built this microscope in his friend's lounge room, and went on to win the Nobel prize.

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V6jm TIL that in the islands of Tanna there is a “cargo cult” that worships the U.S. army and a Jesus-like WWII soldier named John Frum. The natives dress in American military uniforms and build fake airplane runways, believing John will return to bring trucks, Coca-Cola, radios, and other riches.
dLaB TIL Philip Morris discovered that its new fire-safe cigarettes were instead much more apt to cause fires. Their response was to fire the scientist who told them this.
Kv5w TIL Sam Jackson had the same amount of screen time in Pulp Fiction as John Travolta yet was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar while Travolta got nominated for Best Actor.
lo61N TIL that after being stung by the Warrior Wasp, sting pain index creator Justin Schmidt described the pain as, "torture, you are chained in the flow of an active volcano. Why did I start this list?"
v1v18 TIL that the term "pipe dream" is a reference to the insane dreams people have when smoking opium