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TIL that for decades the CIA owned and ran Crypto, a Swiss company that supplied cryptography equipment to many countries; naturally, the machines were rigged to give US spooks access to everyone's communications.

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d8NZZ TIL Canada is one of the oldest continual monarchies in the world. Established in either the 15th or 16th Century, it is older than the British monarchy which took a break between 1649 and 1660.
WkrXd TIL Tolar, NM has the distinction of being the only town in the USA to be bombed out of existence in World War II. Not that it was a large town at the time. The explosion from an accidental railroad disaster left a crater about 20-feet deep and 60-feet wide - the town was pretty much obliterated.
xXBD TIL that in 1973, after The Who’s drummer Keith Moon passed out on stage, Pete Townshend asked the crowd, ‘Can anybody play the drums…I mean somebody good!’ A fan, Scot Halpin, volunteered to play and proceeded to finish the set.
xV5k7 TIL that to stop advancing Japanese troops in 1938, the Chinese government breached a dyke of the Yellow River, creating a Flood which killed 500.000 and lasted until 1947
1Kx8 TIL that Superman compresses his spine as Clark Kent to become shorter in order to help hide his identity