› added 11 months ago

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TIL that the world's largest video game studio is headquartered in a former textile factory

m14JE TIL Arsenic was known to be dangerous and addictive in the Victorian Era, but small amounts in the form of edible wafers were thought to not only be safe but to help one achieve that sought-after pale complexion, giving the skin an "indescribable brilliancy" according to advertisements.
XWJE TIL an MIT grad student submitted his thesis developing the theory of orbital rendezvous which would be critical to the Apollo program. It opens, “In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors.” Buzz Aldrin
kONXd TIL mail-order service Columbia House was responsible for over 15% of all CD sales in 1994. Its practice of "negative option billing" is now banned in 15 states and most Canadian provinces and the service shut down in 2009. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2011 due to inability to cancel.
Lp9m TIL in 2007 a court awarded the rights to OJ Simpson’s “If I Did It” book to the Goldman family. It was renamed “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer”, with the “If” reduced in size to make it appear that the title was “I Did It”
xVwWb TIL that the creators of the US state north of Oregon were originally planning to name it Columbia, but were concerned it would be confused with the District of Columbia. So they named it Washington instead.