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TIL Paul Newman, while attending a small college in central Ohio, began a laundry service out of his dorm room. Newman’s Laundry and Dry Cleaning Service was a success, earning the young entrepreneur the nickname “The Laundry Man of T-Barracks” in 1949.

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9mjm TIL: 60% of the Fat and 31% of the calories in Burger King’s Chicken Sandwich come from the mayonnaise alone
1aPd8 TIL of the Lockheed bribery scandals. Starting in the 1950s, officials of Lockheed, the aerospace company, bribed many influential individuals including a Dutch prince, a Japanese mob boss and a Saudi Arabian arms dealer in order to negotiate favourable deals. The bribes were exposed in the 1970s.
XEGOr TIL about Premium Bonds issued by the UK, which functions as a low-risk lottery. The bonds don't accrue interest, but every month prizes up to £1 million are distributed to select winners after a drawing. Even if you don't win, the government will buy back the bond at the original price.
6MB7 TIL that no one, including an expert Belgian botanist, could find a method of pollination of vanilla to make it viable for cultivation outside of South America… until a 12-year-old slave named Edmond Albius discovered it could be hand-pollinated. This led to the global cultivation of the plant.
8b7P TIL in a 3-day-long 2002 theater hostage situation, Russian forces pumped an unknown gas into the ventilation system that caused everyone inside to fall unconscious. Troops were able to kill the 40 militants while they were blacked out, saving nearly 800 people with minimal casualties.