› added 9 years ago

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TIL that pinball was illegal for 30 years in many major US cities. Politicians thought that pinball was a game based on chance and therefore must have been a mob-run scam. The ban ended when a master pinball player was called in front of a committee to demonstrate his skill.

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X0Mrr TIL Manatees congregate in the warm springs around Florida and also near power plants. Swimming with a manatee in winter is now officially on my bucket list.
edk6 TIL that Crassus, a Roman general and also one of the richest men in history, used to purchase buildings on fire for a very low price and then put the fires out with his trained army of 500 slaves and rebuild them. If the owners refused to sell their property, he would not engage in firefighting.
EJ70 TIL that the story of Thomas Edison electrocuting an elephant as part of the War of Currents is a myth. The elephant was killed as part of an unrelated Coney Island stunt, and Edison’s name is only associated because Edison-brand film was used to record the elephant’s death.
YrpB TIL In 1980, China’s economy was smaller than Pakistan’s. After growing by more than 10% annually over the past 30 years, China’s economy is expected to surpass the U.S. by 2028
d8eLK TIL of William Harrison, whose accused murderers were executed in 1661, only for Harrison to reappear in 1662, showing he was never actually dead. The events lead to the end of murder convictions without a body for 250 years in the UK.