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TIL China bought their first aircraft carrier by sending an official in a gambler disguise to deceiving the Ukraine officials into thinking he would use the carrier solely as a floating casino.

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yP9v TIL the screenwriter of Alien (1979), Dan O'Bannon, credited his experiences with Crohn’s disease for inspiring the chest-busting scene.
QppE TIL in the 50’s there were so many kid dying from playing in abandoned fridges in the US, they passed the Refrigerator Safety Act. It was so severe troops of people would sometimes search out abandoned refrigerators, detaching the doors and smashing the locks.
w9Z6 TIL The twin towers were edited out of the 2002 movie “It’s a Very Muppet Christmas Movie” except for in a scene where an angel shows Kermit what the world would be like if he had never been born.
jN55X TIL the Bay of Pigs in Cuba is called "Bahía de Cochinos" in Spanish, cochino being a common fish in the area. Cochino can also be used as an insult in Cuban Spanish very similarly to how "pig" is used as an insult in English, leading to the mistranslation.
oGWR TIL Fred Astaire broke his wrist while riding his grandson’s skateboard. He was later awarded a life membership in the National Skateboard Society.