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TIL that Gene Wilder wanted to be introduced in a certain way in Willy Wonky and the chocolate factory because that way for the rest of the movie “no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.”

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PYn9V TIL In 1942, the Nazis cracked the algorithm for the serial numbers and rag content of British Pound notes. Using prisoners with counterfeiting skills, near perfect bills were produced with the plan to scatter them over England by air to induce hyperinflation and collapse the economy.
P1k6e TIL Raghavasimhan Sankaranarayanan, a PhD student at Georgia Tech created Hathaani - a robotic violinist designed to play Carnatic music
5VY5p TIL that while impressed by his book "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica", the UK's science academy couldn't publish Isaac Newton's book due to being nearly bankrupt from spending all of its money printing the "History of Fish". Thankfully, scientist Edmond Halley's funded the printing.
N7KAM TIL that there is a bladeless wind turbine that is smaller, lighters and more that 40% more cost effective than its bladed cousins. It sits on an oscillating base and uses vortexes to “trap” air to make electricity. Best of all, it is almost completely bird-safe.
ojAE TIL that a US passport effectively expires 6 months before its actual expiration date, banning travelers from entering many countries