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TIL Simon, the world’s first smartphone, was released by IBM in 1994. It cost $899, loaded new apps via external memory cards, and could last sixty minutes before requiring a recharge. IBM sold 50,000 units.

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Z8jVB TIL the Latin phrase Magnum Opus, that modernly refers to the greatest achievement of an artist or writer, was first used almost 2,000 years ago to describe the pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary alchemical substance also known as the elixir of life.
rNALW TIL Titanic's wireless operator told a nearby ship to "shut up" when warned of icebergs less than an hour before they struck an iceberg
rR7MM TIL that the 1980s pop song 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' was banned from being broadcast on the BBC between 1990 and 1991 because it was feared to have anti-Gulf War themes
d8KRK After exercise, fast food helps you recover just as well as sports supplements.
rRwwd TIL that in the 1700s, Queen Caroline of Great Britain had smallpox innoculation trialled on six prisoners in return for commuting their death sentences. When this was successful, she innoculated her own children, popularising the process.