› added 12 years ago

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TIL In 2001, a surgeon was in a situation, due to some admitted level of incompetence, that required him to improvise and place a portion of surgical grade stainless steel screwdriver into a patient’s spine. He and his hospital were later sued for $5.6 million. He tells his side of the story here.

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NLk8 TIL in 2009 two Northwest Airlines pilots lost their licenses when they overshot their planned destination by 150 miles, only realizing their mistake when a flight attendant asked about landing. The pilots were both on their personal laptops and ignored inquiries from flight control for 90 minutes.
Jl9m TIL that Paul McCartney elected not to tell his wife Linda, as her cancer progressed, that she was dying, thinking that doing so wouldn’t do any good; she continued riding her horse until the day before her death.
5lLB TIL that boxer Marvin Hagler legally changed his name to ‘Marvelous Marvin Hagler’ so that commentators had to call him by his nickname.
kOVJE TIL that Dwight Eisenhower once wrote that the five most important vehicles used to win WWII were the jeep, the bulldozer, the 2.5 ton truck, the DUKW amphibious car, and the C-47 transport plane, none of which are designed for combat.
QJoDM TIL Einstein didn't know how to swim, but he refused to wear a lifejacket. He was always running his boat aground because he was so busy relaxing that he didn’t look to see where he was going. His family was convinced that if he didn’t drown, he’d get his head smashed by the masts and spars.