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TIL that Sony needed military export permits from the Japanese trade ministry for the export of PlayStation 2s. The PS2 was so good at processing high quality images quickly that the Japanese government believed it was possible to adapt it for use in missile guidance systems.

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x6pEb TIL in 1952, Navy LT Jimmy Carter led a team of nuclear scientists in disassembling a Canadian nuclear reactor undergoing meltdown. Carter, alongside others, personally lowered himself into the reactor to disassemble it by hand, exposing himself to one thousand times the level of safe radiation.
XErR6 TIL the US Bureau of Land Management only allows 20 people per day to visit The Wave rock formation in Arizona and you have to apply 4 months in advance for a permit.
PRyL TIL Snapple failed to beat the world record for biggest ice pop when 16 tons of frozen juice from a freezer truck melted faster than expected. Spectators fled to higher ground as firefighters hosed away the melted juice.
69b17 TIL using special aquariums, a team of researchers proved that some flowers that grow in the ocean are pollinated by plankton and invertebrates just like flowers on land. Inside each flower is a nutritious substance filled with pollen that sticks to the animals when they move from flower to flower
Brad TIL In 1922 there was a riot in New York City because of people wearing straw hats after the date that it was considered socially acceptable to do so, September 15th.