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Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), the so-called "Korean artificial sun," fusion device has set a world record by maintaining plasma at over 100 million °C (180 million °F) for 20 seconds.

b9XwQ TIL Wham!'s single "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" is the highest-selling single ever to peak at #2 in the UK charts. They were kept from #1 by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Wham! donated all the royalties from "Last Christmas" to the Ethiopian famine appeal, Band Aid's cause.
kJleg TIL: In 1968, over 6000 sheep were killed in Utah and popular theories pointed to the Army. It was revealed 30 years later that it was indeed the result of nerve agent testing. Families nearby developed nervous system illnesses, but the Army accepted no responsibility.
X0YEQ TIL Marottichal a village in India was rife with alcoholism and illicit gambling, but everything changed after one man taught the town to play chess. Miraculously, the game’s popularity flourished while drinking and gambling declined.
GOJQ TIL of the “idiot plot”. The term was popularized by film critic Roger Ebert, who defines it as “[a]ny plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots”.
D1rpD TIL that Petra, the Blue Peter dog for 15 years, who was so loved there is even a statue of her at BBC television centre, was actually a replacement. The original Petra died two days after her debut and the show makers hastily found a lookalike to avoid upsetting the viewers.