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TIL that the term Banana republic was invented by the author O. Henry when he lived in Honduras, and described a politically unstable country dependent upon the exportation of limited-resource product.

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N79n6 TIL the US provided Laos with funds and concrete to expand an airport which could serve as a base for US fighter jets during the Vietnam War. But as the funds and concrete arrived before any contract was signed, Laos decided instead to build a memorial to soldiers who died in World War II.
xVDRb TIL: The millions of dead skin cells your body gives off every day turn into the dust that resides on the floors of your house.
5YKA8 TIL The teen who sold a kidney for an iPhone is now attached to a dialysis machine. He suffered organ failure, and is likely to be bedridden for life after suffering renal deficiency. He could get a transplant for $336,000 AUD on the black market - more than 80 times what he received for his kidney.
l6kB TIL The president and CEO of Gearbox Software Bought Penn Jillette’s Ponytail for $25,000
OwVX TIL there is a long history of US Vice Presidents disliking the job. John Adams called it “the most insignificant office… contrived,” FDR’s Vice President Garner called it “not worth a bucket of warm piss,” and Truman joking Vice Presidents were “about as useful as a cow’s fifth teat.”