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TIL Samsung can remotely disable its TVs that come pre-loaded with a “Television Block Function”. When the TV connects to the internet, it checks its serial code against a list on Samsung’s servers and stops functionality if there's a match. It's used to mitigate cargo theft and unauthorized retail.

kJ8Ed TIL Brussels not only have free public transport, they have a bus called "Not The 48" which takes you to a mystery location if you're feeling a bit down or you just don't have anything to do that day.
16Wv7 TIL that "Van Der Beek" translates to "From the creek" in Dutch. James Van Der Beek starred in "Dawson's Creek" in the late 90s and early oughts.
8eaPG TIL about Japanese general named Sayaka who believed Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-98) was unjustified and defected over to Korean side, he was given a Korean name (Kim Chung-seon) and were given position in the Korean army as general, he also served in Qing Invasions of Korea later on.
8p94 TIL there was the Soviet equivalent to Eurovision called the Intervision Song Contest. Because of a lack of phones, viewers would turn lights on or off if they liked or didn’t like the song. According to load experienced on the electrical network, points were granted accordingly to each contestant.
neKYG TIL the word Geek was originally an early 20th-century term for a carnival worker who was so unskilled that the only thing they could do at a carnival to attract a crowd was to bite off the heads of live animals such as chickens, snakes and rats and swallow them