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TIL In 1991, when President Bush proposed placing the DARPA network into the public domain, Democratic Rep. (now Senator) Chuck Schumer argued “it would be a waste of the taxpayers’ money” to essentially give away the Defence Department technology. DARPAnet became the basis for the Internet.

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BrXjK TIL that in 1963, some Barbie dolls came with a book entitled "How to Lose Weight" which advised "Don't eat!" and a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs.
P1aje TIL that by the time the place of origin for pepper had been located, the East India Company was chartered in 1601. By 1603, the EIC brought a million pounds of black pepper (1/4 the total demand in Europe) back to London
nWeZW TIL "Qi" is the most commonly played word in Scrabble tournaments.
69Bkl TIL in 1937, Marion Anderson gave a concert at Princeton but was denied lodging at a local segregated hotel. Einstein invited her to stay at his nearby home. They became friends, and she often stayed at his house whenever she visited Princeton
N7dY6 TIL the “Underwear Bomber"plot failed because the bomber, Umar Abdulmutallab, wore the same underwear for two weeks straight and as a result the bomb’s fuse became "damp”