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TIL James Nasmyth discovered fine scale solar features, which he painted in detail and called 'willow-leaf-shaped objects in 1860. Now known as solar granulation, their existence was disputed for many years

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168ld TIL In 1907, a performer named "Sober Sue" appeared onstage. Theater offered $100 to anyone who could make Sober Sue laugh. People from the audience, professional comedians, all tried, but failed. Later it was found it was impossible for her to laugh because her facial muscles were paralyzed.
vP1A7 TIL ventriloquists have to carefully script their acts to avoid words with any "f", "v", "b", "p", or "m" sounds. These consonants require the lips to move, which would ruin the act.
5YPnk TIL of Tyra Winters, a Highschool cheerleader who saved the life of a choking toddler during a homecoming parade. She was on a float and jumped down from it when she spotted the suffering boy in the crowd. She’d gotten CPR training in the 8th grade and used it to save his life.
0ddKy TIL in 1982 the US government secretly supplied state of the art Sidewinder missiles to UK during Falklands War. Overall British Harriers shot down 23 planes without a combat loss during the conflict.
7n6x TIL that in 532, a conflict between fans of two different sports teams sparked a riot that destroyed half of Constantinople and killed 30,000 people