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TIL James Avery (Uncle Phil) served in the US Navy in Vietnam from 1968-69. He then moved to San Diego to write poetry and TV scripts for PBS and won an Emmy for his effort. He got a scholarship from UC San Diego and graduated there with a Bachelor’s degree in Drama and Literature in 1976.

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kA1d TIL As recently as 2009, China had elementary schools wholly sponsored by big tobacco. One in Sichuan had a message at the front gate that said “Tobacco can help you become an achiever”
YMO7 TIL That Jack Ruby, The Killer of Lee Harvey Oswald, Held A Press Conference In 1965 To State That He Was Part Of A Broader Conspiracy To Overthrow The U.S. Government
0dr8j TIL people are still learning Manchu language (used by the Chinese Qing empire) to study ancient Qing texts in Taiwan (but Manchus now speak Mandarin Chinese, and FYI the Chinese most people in the world now learn is a Manchu accent Chinese)
5Vm9r TIL 'First, do no harm' is not part of the Hippocratic Oath
v1dZ8 TIL that in 1832 the US Bank thwarted the government’s plan to pay off the public debt by illegally authorizing European bankers to purchase it, leading Andrew Jackson to fear that “a new era may arise in which the capitalist abroad may have an influence over the destinies of this country.”