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TIL The spire of the Empire State Building in New York was designed as a mooring mast for blimps. After only one blimp docked, the high wind prevented them from ever attempting another docking.

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J1YgB TIL that as a result of the "Baby Einstein" franchise of videos and books being named after Albert Einstein, royalties paid to his estate made Einstein one of the top five earning dead celebrities for a time.
69P07 TIL Ernst Hanfstaengl, a confidant of Hitler, defected to the US after he fell out of favor. He had been ordered to parachute over Spain and be an agent for Franco in the Spanish Civil War, but he was convinced it was a plot on his life. Albert Speer claimed that it was an elaborate practical joke.
Vw7p TIL the military word “mayday” meaning “emergency” comes from the identically pronounced French phrase “m'aidez”, meaning “help me”.
DwPe TIL Oliver Sipple, who stopped an assassination attempt on Gerald Ford, was disowned by his family and was never invited to the white house to be thanked because he was gay.
a8BX0 TIL Hard Rock Cafe, which operates venues in 74 countries, is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida who bought it for $965M in '06. They then paid the state of FL $100M for the rights to allow Vegas-style table gambling in the Cafes.