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TIL in 1944 a 14-year-old was executed by electric chair. George Stinney Jr, a black boy, was accused of murdering 2 white girls. The trial was flimsy, and the jury decided in 10 minutes to execute the teen. In 2014, his conviction was vacated.

grYrW TIL German American gymnast George Eyser won six Olympic medals in one day at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. Until 2008 he was the only person to compete in an Olympic Games with an artificial leg. His six medals in one day remains a record.
epMP4 TIL in 1991, the Criterion Collection released the first three 007 films on laserdisc, featuring extensive crew commentary. Almost immediately, all remaining copies were recalled by Criterion due to the content of those commentaries, including insults to cast and crew and casual sexism and racism.
xV8kb TIL the United States has less operational high speed rail than North Africa; China has the world's largest amount of rail, whooping the pants off all of Europe combined. China 31K, Europe 18K, the US 54. That's not a typo, 54 miles. North Africa 186mi.
7rQRr TIL about Dr Denis Mukwege, a congolese gynecologist who specialised in women victims of extreme sexual violence. Threatened, he exiled with his family, but the Congolese women joined forces for him to come back. He now works in Bukavu where he is under constant protection from the UN.
Q9OL TIL Quaker Oats had a video game divsion in the 80s. They made 14 games in a year, all failures, then shut down.