› added 9 years ago

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TIL Alexander Graham Bell developed the metal detector as a last ditch effort to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of American President James Garfield in 1881; the attempt was unsuccessful because the metal coil spring bed Garfield was lying on confused the detector.

wgo8 TIL in 2010, a Polish man living in Germany asked doctors to remove what he thought was a several-year old cyst at the back of his head. However, doctors found that the “cyst” was actually a .22-caliber round lodged in his scalp. He didn’t noticed it because he was drunk when it happened 5 years ago
jOJj TIL the Mona Lisa used to have eyebrows, but they were rubbed off through years of rough cleaning.
7rRWP TIL the term "ZIP" code is actually an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, was introduced in the 40's only for large cities, and was a signature mark for the USPS to give the impression that the mail would "zip" along faster if citizens used it.
rrXe TIL in 1988, the administrative law judge for the DEA stated: “Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality”.
ElLW TIL In the 1950s, full size B-47 nuclear bombers would do a partial backflip called an “Immelman maneuver” and fling their nuclear weapons in a parabolic arc towards the target . This was so they would not be consumed by the 40,000 foot tall fireball from their own weapons.