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TIL that a raven named Jimmy was in over 1,000 films from the 1930s to the 1950s. Apparently Jimmy was talented, knowing how to ride a tiny motorcycle and understanding several hundred words. Jimmy earned a gold metal from the Red Cross for entertaining veterans.

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4k466 TIL: Sperm whales are so named because of a waxy substance known as spermaceti found in their heads. This substance was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles in olden days leading to these whales being the primary target of the whaling industry
PmVJ TIL that Manhattan Project mathematician Richard Hamming was asked to check arithmetic by a fellow researcher. Richard Hamming planned to give it to a subordinate until he realized it was a set of calculations to see if the nuclear detonation would ignite the entire Earth’s atmosphere.
6EjwZ TIL: although their bodies were badly mangled from the effects of the high altitude / hypersonic orbiter breakup, forensic evidence has revealed that the Columbia Shuttle crew very likely died in seconds from rapid loss of pressure.
LQok9 TIL of “Raining Blobs in Oakville,”a phenomenon that occurred in Oakville, Washington, in 1994, where gelatinous blobs fell from the sky. These blobs contained human white blood cells and made people ill, though their origin remains a mystery.
B5NL TIL that all 3000lbs of confetti released in Times Square on New Year’s Eve for the last 25 years is done by hand and not machine launchers. It has been coordinated by “The Confetti King” Treb Heining for the last 25 years.