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TIL In 2007 a Dutch reality show called “De Grote Organshow” pitted contestants in dire need of organ transplants against each other, resulting in outrage across the globe– only to reveal it was a hoax that highlighted a serious problem. Over 50,000 people then signed up for the organ donor’s list

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via reddit.com

xVOab TIL that in 1971 an unidentified man hijacked a plane in the northwest United States, obtained $200,000 in ransom money (equivalent to $1,260,000 today) and parachuted into the night, never to be heard from again. Fifteen copycat hijackings were attempted in 1972, all of which were unsuccessful.
ANWm4 TIL an originator of the lobotomy procedure, António Egas Moniz, received the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1949. Since then the Nobel Foundation has not rescinded the award, and in fact there is still an article active from the foundation defending the award.
rRpGe TIL that in 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that credit card companies did not have to abide by state interest rate caps. It allowed them to relocate to states without rate caps and issue credit cards across the nation with whatever rate they wanted.
R5bWQ TIL of Bill Hatfield, the oldest person to ever circumnavigate the earth. He attempted a total of four times before succeeding and even washed overboard on his first voyage. He was 81 when he earned the record.
5Y5w9 TIL that the US has spent over $4.79 Trillion on wars in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Department of Homeland Security through 2016