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TIL Several test pilots were once awarded astronaut wings despite not being in a space program. They managed to exceed 50 miles in altitude or more while attempting to break the world speed record in an X-15 test aircraft. They even managed to break Mach 4, 5, and 6…at up to 67 miles above earth.

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woJ1P TIL philosopher Thomas Hobbes was born prematurely on 5 April 1588, his mother going in labor because of her anxiety about the imminent invasion of the spanish armada, He would later write that "my mother gave birth to twins: myself and fear"
ND4M TIL that in 2007, a 75 year old woman smashed up a Comcast office with a hammer because she was fed up with their poor customer service
vP4xr TIL that the Leaning Tower of Pisa was built in 3 stages over centuries but that it had begun leaning from the start, so they simply built each new stage straight up on top of the tilted lower portions; as a result, the 3 sections are leaning at different angles.
vPbnR TIL Laverie Vallee (née Cooper; July 18, 1875 – February 6, 1949), best known by her stage name Charmion, was an American vaudeville trapeze artist and strongwoman. One of her risqué trapeze acts was captured on film in 1901 by Thomas Edison.
kO7dW TIL when Tay Zonday made the "Chocolate Rain" video, he was doing PhD studies at the University of Minnesota in theater history & social change. He said: "I wrote 'Chocolate Rain' as a serious social commentary, but people re-sang the song with their own lyrics, often for the sake of comedy."