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TIL in 1982 a Bolivian Drug smuggler’s son was busted in the US. The drug lord sent a letter to Ronald Reagan, proposing that in exchange for his son’s liberty he would pay off Bolivia’s entire foreign debt ($3.8 billion).

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k0EW TIL Art Scholl - the pilot hired to do in-flight camera work for Top Gun - died filming the scene leading to Goose’s death. His plane spun through its recovery altitude, at which time he radioed “I have a problem… I have a real problem”. The film is dedicated to his memory.
9OOB TIL there was a fake French reality show in the style of the Milgram experiment, which made real and unwitting contestants shock someone on TV. 80% of them kept shocking the person (who was just an actor), even after he cried out for them to stop. 60% shocked him till he appeared to die.
E7ap TIL: The most effective treatment for CDI (a bowel disease causing chronic diarrhea) is a fecal transplant, where poo from a healthy person is put in the infected person’s bum, thereby transplanting healthy bacteria into the digestive tract. It is 94% effective as opposed to 30% for antibiotics.
xVOP0 TIL about Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity, in which thousands of gallons of water are pumped to a reservoir at a higher elevation using off-peak electricity, then released to turn turbines and produce electricity at a later date. It's a non-chemical form of battery.
Lk8kV TIL: The Black Death was responsible for the beginning of the end of European Feudalism/Manoralism. As there were fewer workers, their lords were forced to pay higher wages. With higher wages, there were fewer restrictions on travel. Eventually, this would lead to a trade class/middle class.