› added 5 months ago

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TIL of the Guano Islands Act from 1856 which the US used to lay claim to 100 unpopulated islands

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eWKn TIL that you can see China’s air pollution on satellite images.
o1Go TIL that for the release of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, 9,000 FedEx trucks and 100 airplanes were used with no purpose than to deliver the book.
W7OA8 TIL that Arno Breker, Hitler's favorite sculptor, who was known for his bombastic style of representing the ideals of the Nazis, was offered a commission after the war by Stalin, but refused, saying "One dictatorship is sufficient for me." He continued to thrive until his death in 1991.
51KB TIL that in 1982, AT&T, which had complete control of the telephone service in the US, broke up into 7 companies due to an antitrust case. Now, 4 of those companies once again belong to AT&T, 2 to Verizon, and the last to CenturyLink.
epwyk TIL that AT&T was so regimented that there were over 9,000 Bell System Practices, including 3-page 770-130-301 "SWEEPING, GENERAL"