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TIL about Peter Fossett, a man born into slavery at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. He later bought his freedom and became a conductor on the underground railroad, a military officer, and a pastor. His wife, Sarah, filed a lawsuit in 1860 which desegregated the streetcars in Cincinnati.

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epgBD TIL the oldest known human drawing is a 73,000-year-old cross-hatched pattern made with ochre on stone flake, found in South Africa. This discovery predates previously known drawings by at least 30,000 years, revealing early Homo sapiens' ability to create symbolic designs using various techniques.
8e4RL TIL In 1945 a mix of American soldiers and Filipino guerillas attacked a POW camp behind Japanese lines, an American fighter flew over the camp making noise to distract the guards, in the end the Japanese lost hundreds to only two allied deaths and over 500 prisoners were rescued.
5V6rD TIL Friday the 13th (1980) was panned by critics upon release. Gene Siskel was a vocal critic of the film, going so far as to publicly spoil the ending in an attempt to convince audiences not to see it and encourage detractors to write to actress Betsy Palmer and express their contempt for the film.
J1PXB TIL that in 2008 light heavyweight boxing champion Bernard Hopkins declared that he would defeat his opponent Joe Calzaghe, as he could not lose to a white boy. Calzaghe would go on to win the fight.
5KB8 TIL a 2013 BBC study found that 56% of pilots fell asleep while flying, and 29% had woken up to find the co-pilot also asleep.