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TIL Henry Ford bought an area of Brazilian rainforest the size of Connecticut to build 'Fordlandia', the greatest rubber plantation known to man, where alcohol, women and football were banned. It produced almost no rubber, immediately descended into rioting and disease, and was abandoned

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yV8J TIL FedEx returned a volleyball that washed up after the Japanese tsunami
amWo TIL that Albert Einstein wrote an essay about how our politicians and media only represent the interests of the top 1% and how they use misinformation to prevent citizens from coming to objective conclusions or making intelligent use of their political rights.
R7YM1 TIL of the "Battle of London Airport" in 1948, where the officers of the "Flying Squad" learnt of a plot to steal bullion from the airport by drugging the guards. In response they replaced the guards and pretended to be drugged, then awoke leading to a violent fight with all criminals being caught
l7PyV TIL Galileo Galilei's middle finger is on display at the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy.
XEpwk TIL In November 2012, Salvador Alvarenga went fishing off the coast of Mexico. Two days later, a storm hit and he made a desperate SOS. It was the last anyone heard from him – for 438 days