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TIL that Pacific Bell spent $40 million to put its employees through a training program based on the teachings of Russian mystic George Gurdjieff—to supposedly open their eyes to a "higher-level" consciousness. The program was halted after the Californian utility regulator launched a public inquiry.

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via reddit.com

pY89A TIL in 2009 researchers discovered a bottled message in Auschwitz. The message contained the name & number of seven inmates between 18-20 years old, and the hometowns they were taken from. At the discovery two of the inmates were alive, three had passed away, the fate of the last two is unknown
b9Wnj TIL that the name of the company LEGO comes from the Danish phrase "leg godt", which means "play well". Interestingly, the Latin word "lego" means "I put together", but this is just a coincidence - when LEGO first started, it only made wooden toys.
6beZ TIL that the first documented appearance of “the finger” in the United States was in 1886, when Charles Radbourn, a baseball pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, was photographed giving it to a member of their rival the New York Giants.
MePm0 TIL Women with Neandertal gene give birth to more children! One in three women in Europe inherited the receptor for progesterone from Neandertals – a gene variant associated with increased fertility, fewer bleedings during early pregnancy and fewer miscarriages.
K4v9 TIL The Fairness Doctrine, a law until 1987, stated that broadcasters must give multiple perspectives to important issues. Since 1987, figures of all political persuasions - Limbaugh, Maddow, O'Reilly, Olberman - have risen in popularity.