› added 4 years ago

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TIL: In 2005, a Japanese stockbroker set the value of J-Com’s share price to one yen for 610,000 shares, when he was supposed to have set it to 610,000 yen for one share. That error costed J-Com 27 billion yen—or about $236 million—which was the near equivalent to their previous years’ total income.

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OoJJY TIL that China produces 42% of the world's cigarettes. Nearly 60% of male Chinese doctors are smokers. In most of the country smoking is considered socially acceptable anywhere at any time, even if it is technically illegal.
67rX TIL the Iranian and Polish peoples have had a close relationship ever since Iran welcomed Polish refugees in WWII
WkL6Y TIL that Keanu Reeves came to the aid of Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer when she first moved to LA and was stranded on the side of the road
e01aL TIL in 1945 a malfunctioning toilet forced a German U-boat to the surface off the coast of Scotland after the commander accidentally let water into the boat that came into contact with batteries causing the boat to fill with chlorine gas. It was promptly attacked and sunk by a British aircraft.
e0AxL TIL that "Banana Republic" was coined as a political term referring to a country(s) (Honduras and neighbors) that were exploited by a corporation (United Fruit Co.) for specific exports (yes, bananas). It is typically ruled by plutocracy and has a large poor working class that is also exploited.