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TIL Jack Parsons, a pioneer rocket engineer and inventor of the rocket engines later used in the apollo program was also a passionate occultist. One of his rituals, aimed to summon a sex goddess involved Parsons jerking off to magical tablets while listening to a violin concerto

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8evO4 TIL the first Blue LED wasn't commercially available until 1989 and bright blue LEDs weren't available until 1993.
QJNbM TIL the first Indian Reservation in what would become the US was established in 1758, predating the birth of the United States by nearly 2 decades
6kvm TIL that after the end of Denazification in 1951, the U.S. conducted opinion surveys in occupied Germany in 1952 and found that 37% of Germans said Germany was better off without the Jews and 25% still had a good opinion of Hitler.
9YXAr TIL that in 2012, an Indian nurse looking after the Duchess of Cambridge was prank called by an Australian radio station pretending to be the Queen. This led to her revealing confidential information which was then broadcast on the radio. 3 days later, she committed suicide by hanging.
XE8nD TIL It's illegal to write a check for less than $1 (18 U.S. Code § 336 - Issuance of circulating obligations of less than $1)