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TIL: One of the 57 people killed in the 1980 Mt St. Helens explosion was an 83 year old lodge owner named Harry Truman. Just before the 1980 eruption he said ’“If the mountain goes, I’m going with it” He and his 16 cats are presumed to have died in the eruption.

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6ZNm TIL: IMAX projectionists wear body armor when handling IMAX lamps; if dropped, they can explode resulting in quartz shrapnel.
oR1MR TIL that the first African American Governor of a US State, Douglas Wilder, wasn’t elected until 1990.
Yp9dW TIL In the movie Twister, the Dorothy unit shown in the film was not complete science fiction but based on NOAA's real TOTO unit, and the film props are now displayed with the real device at the National Weather Center.
7roMO TIL There are at least 7 "Frozen Conflict" zones in the former soviet union, which are unrecognized states created during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992. Although over 6 million people live in these areas, these countries have no official status and are not member of the UN
gMl1X TIL After serving only 16 months in office, U.S. President Zachary Taylor passed away after eating too much cherries and drinking iced milk at a July 4th party in 1850. He was diagnosed with cholera morbus and died on July 9th. The acidic fruit along with the milk is believed to have caused this.