› added 4 months ago

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TIL King Kalakaua of Hawai'i was the first Monarch to Circumnavigate the world in 1881

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D1gMP TIL only 7 artists have sold over 250 million albums. 4 of them are British.
Gj7E TIL about the Baghdad Battery. A 2000 year old clay jar with a stopper made of asphalt. Sticking through the asphalt is an iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder. When filled with vinegar or other electrolytic solution, the jar produces about 1.1 volts.
wLGpW TIL the supermarket chain Publix has never laid off an employee
XpNE TIL Mary Anderson, inventor of the modern windscreen wiper was told “we do not consider it to be of such commercial value as would warrant our undertaking its sale”, when she tried to sell her patent. Many company’s went on to implement her device after her patent was expired.
LkGYV TIL that airports used to offer trip life insurance for $1.50. A man took out a $37,500 policy on his mother and hid explosives in her luggage. He told her it was her Christmas gift. All 44 people on United flight 629 died.