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TIL that the treadmill originated in prisons. It was meant as a punishment, a source of electricity, and to keep prisoners active.

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7vRx TIL that Harry Potter was the most banned book in the US for 2001 and 2002, for the reasons of being “anti-family, occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, violence”.
XvO8 TIL that on July 6, 1967, the Alvin Submersible was attacked by a swordfish, which became lodged in the skin of the sub. The crew made an emergency surface, recovered the fish, and ate it for dinner.
9YZA7 TIL that in 2014, The Philippines broke a world record by planting 3 million trees in an hour.
8aPB4 TIL: The first, and so far only, time Gallup asked "Which Country Is The Greatest Threat to World Peace?" the US came first with three times the vote for second place.
LkLEr TIL "As a boy of five, John Brown witnessed a slave his own age being beaten with a fire shovel. He vowed to become a foe of slavery." As an abolitionist, he said "These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!" He was ultimately hanged as a traitor for acts which spurred the Civil War.