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TIL Japanese swordsmiths can only make 2 swords per month due to restrictions put in place after World War II

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E1e7p TIL the USSR used a nuclear bomb to put out a gas well fire.
JkXQ TIL A German drug cartel started a price war with Dow Chemical by selling bromine below their cost to produce. Herbert Dow successfully defeated the cartel by buying all their product and reselling it at a profit.
QJl8e TIL the East German Stasi used psych warfare called Zersetzung against dissidents. Tactics involved breaking into homes and subtly manipulating the contents; moving furniture, altering alarms, removing pictures from walls. Many thought they were losing their minds, and had mental breakdowns.
rJ5y TIL that there is a factory in Japan which can run unsupervised for 30 days at a time. Robots build other robots at the rate of 50 per 24-hour shift. Such factories are called “lights out” factories because no human presence is needed. FANUC has been operating this autonomous factory since 2001.
4XnEX TIL of the "Daughter from California" syndrome, a situation in which a long-lost distant relative arrives at the hospital at which a dying elderly relative is being treated, and insists on aggressive measures to prolong the patient's life, or otherwise challenges the care the patient is being given.