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TIL Nixon and Kissinger funded the kidnapping/assassination of a Chilean General who wanted to prevent civil war. CIA provided one of the conspirators with a life-insurance policy and “hush money”, while another received guns, ammunition and $50,000 in cash to carry out the plot.

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16pVX TIL The tallest mountain in our solar system is not on Earth, but rather on Mars. Olympus Mons is approximately 13.6 miles high which is three times the height of Mount Everest (tallest mountain on Earth).
nepnP TIL In December 1958, fishing rights tensions between Mexico and Guatemala escalated. Seeking to distract from domestic protests, the Guatemalan Air Force strafed a row of Mexican trawlers, killing 3 fishermen. The president defended his brinkmanship, claiming they were pirates plotting an invasion
yajX TIL Balisongs (butterfly knives) are not illegal because of more use in violent crime, but because they can cause prolific amounts of Emergency Room visits from user-based accidents.
kA1d TIL As recently as 2009, China had elementary schools wholly sponsored by big tobacco. One in Sichuan had a message at the front gate that said “Tobacco can help you become an achiever”
a8E7J TIL that during WWII, Ford's mile-long assembly line at ‘Willow Run Plant” produced B-24’s at a peak rate of nearly one every hour (~63min). A symbol of American industrial might, exemplifying how industry (and some 6 Million women) pivoted to support the war effort, vital to Allied victory: