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TIL inmates at Riker's Island are paid $1 an hour to bury unclaimed bodies on Hart Island. I also learned that Hart Island is a place in NYC that used to house an insane asylum for women, city jails, and a "reformatory for vicious boys."

Read more ny.curbed.com

via reddit.com

kO4eB TIL since the Federal Witness Protection Program was started in 1971, not one of the 8,500 witnesses or the 9,900 family members participating has been harmed. According to Gerald Shur, its creator, 95% of those who enter the program are "what we call criminals".
yQVEe TIL a family's home was burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1945. The parents and four children escaped unharmed. Five other children of theirs were trapped in upstairs bedrooms and presumably perished, but no remains were ever found and the search for the missing children continued for decades.
PYayG TIL Benjamin Franklin designed the first American penny called the Fugio Cent. The coin was engraved with a sundial and the words "Mind Your Business".
v1orK TIL a science teacher from rural Kenya who donates most of his salary to help poorer students was crowned the world’s best teacher in 2019 and awarded a $1,000,000 prize, beating 10,000 nominations from 179 countries
gYO4 TIL Bill Murray once gave director Wes Anderson $25000 for a helicopter rental for the film Rushmore As disney would not pay due to cost cuts