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TIL Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale did not evict them but gave them a second chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded and named their main character after him.

1a9Bd TIL in 1997 the second highest rated Chess player in America was a prisoner who played largely through letter correspondence. He was accused of inflating his rating by fixing matches against other inmates, and briefly escaped prison after bolting when permitted to attend a chess tournament.
P1brG TIL that NBCUniversal sold the rights to 28 Walt Disney's shorts and Oswald the rabbit character to Disney Company in excange for releasing sportscaster AL Michaels from his employment at ABC
yVVMl TIL a bankrupted con-artist from Oregon was able to purchase a bank license and opened a offshore bank in Grenada by claiming to own a 4 pound ruby worth $20 million dollars and a appraisal document proving its worth. The ruby was owned by a man in California who didn't know the scammer.
7vWb TIL in 2002 Sony released a “copy-proof” CD to combat music piracy. Hackers immediately circumvented this design by scribbling on the rim of the CDs with a Sharpie.
a8AvA TIL The origin of 10,000 steps a day started as a marketing slogan by a Japanese company when they made the world's first pedometer in the 1960s named Manpo-kei, or “10,000 steps meter." The science behind 10,000 steps a day is based on this catchy ad.