› added 5 years ago

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TIL that Stephen Colbert's father and two of his brothers were killed in the plane crash that sparked the FAA's Sterile Cockpit regulation back in 1974.

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oyJR TIL Algebra is based on arabic al-jebr meaning “reunion of broken parts”
R7wP7 TIL to increase circulation of dollar coins, in 2008 the US Mint allowed individuals to purchase in bulk with free shipping. It was quickly exploited as a way to gain frequent flyer miles. People purchased coins with a credit card, then deposited them at their bank to pay the bill, cost free.
aVRA TIL Micro USB cables are designed to absorb the mechanical wear of the connection, so that after thousands of connections and disconnections only the cable needs to be replaced instead wearing out the port on the device.
W71j9 TIL the Chinese version of instagram is literally called ‘LittleRedBook’, a pun based on Facebook and Mao’s famous book of quotes.
W7GN8 TIL Tiny the Wonder was a dog that was famous in mid-1800s London for killing 200 rats in an hour