› added 6 years ago

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TIL: in 1921, White Castle changed the Nation's perception of beef from "low grade meat likely to be richer with E coli than nutrients" by creating a logistics system having fresh beef delivered twice a day and on display in the front of their shops, as well as inventing the hamburger bun.

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kJ0we TIL Nazi SS officer Klaus Barbie, AKA ‘Butcher of Lyon’ for his torture of Jews and French resistance, was smuggled by the US to Bolivia for anticommunist work. For 30 years he also aided multiple dictatorial regimes, paramilitary groups, and even Pablo Escobar with security and torture services
OQ96 TIL the US Supreme Court upheld a three-strikes life-imprisonment sentence for $230 worth of fraud
7NGP TIL the phrase “By and large” has a naval origin, meaning a ship that can sail by (nearly against) the wind, and large (with a backing wind) - i.e. “it’s a good ship, by and large.”
x6BB1 TIL Alcohol isn't allowed on the International Space Station. It's not banned purely for intoxication or health risk. It's banned because alcohol is a volatile compound which can damage the ISS' water filtration system. NASA also bans mouthwash, aftershave and perfumes for this same reason.
PJVw TIL World War II broke out before the VW Bug could go into production, so the Germans used Volkswagen parts to produce the Volkswagen Kübelwagen and the “Schwimmwagen” instead. The Schwimmwagen was basically an amphibious military version of the Beetle, and over 14,000 of them fought in WWII.