› added 1 year ago

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Today I learned about the Texas City Disaster, the deadliest industrial accident in American history, killing 581. All but one of Texas City's firefighters were killed.

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jNobQ TIL Equifax hired a music major as chief security officer
P1M4Z TIL from 1696-1851, England imposed 'Window Tax' which was levied on buildings with tax liability based on the number of windows, which led to efforts to reduce tax bills through such measures as the boarding up of windows
MABa TIL Rio de Janeiro was once capital of Portugal, making it the only European capital outside of Europe
KYyy4 TIL about Hugh Thompson, an American helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He landed between unarmed Vietnamese civilians and American soldiers during the My Lai Massacre, ordering his crew to fire on the American troops if they shot the civilians, saving many lives.
VMO00 TIL Philosophers do have consensus over some issues: Free will is compatible with a universe ruled by cause-and-effect, Minds are purely physical (instead of spiritual), and You should switch (hitting 1 instead of 5 people) in the trolley problem.