› added 10 years ago

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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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R5rK4 TIL about Kinjirō Ashiwara, a self-proclaimed emperor of Japan who rose to celebrity status
6gRJ TIL the Slovakian women’s hockey team qualified for the 2010 Olympics by beating Bulgaria 82-0, and then lost to team Canada in Vancouver 18-0
W71r9 TIL that there was a massive volcanic eruption in the southwest Pacific in 1808... that no one seems to know about.
GY7J1 TIL Benito Mussolini’s son Romano Mussolini was a respected Jazz musician who toured internationally with artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Helen Merrill and Chet Baker.
ADQ9B TIL Jack was a baboon purchased by a railway signalman who lost his legs in an accident. The Baboon began to operate the railway, and was eventually given a job and salary. In 9 years of employment, he never made a mistake.