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TIL William Stephenson, a Canadian, was the real-life inspiration for fictional character James Bond. Stephenson played a key role in the creation of the CIA

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Mvaa TIL that a moment is a medieval unit of time equal to approximately 90 modern seconds
ADm07 TIL of the old adage: “Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning". By basing the color of the sunset/sunrise one can tell of the weather conditions for that day/night.
9YrWG TIL - Michael Schumacher donated $10m in aid after the Indian Ocean Tsunami. This surpassed the amount given by any other individual, sports team/league, corporation, and even some countries. Schumacher's bodyguard Burkhard Cramer, and Cramer's two sons, were killed in the tsunami.
5Y41D TIL that Sony needed military export permits from the Japanese trade ministry for the export of PlayStation 2s. The PS2 was so good at processing high quality images quickly that the Japanese government believed it was possible to adapt it for use in missile guidance systems.
Kxn6 TIL in 1891, Galveston meteorologist Isaac Cline denied the idea that hurricanes could ever pose a threat to the city, and resisted a proposed seawall. In 1900, the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history struck Galveston, killing over 6,000 people (including Cline’s pregnant wife).