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TIL of Balloonfest ‘86, a publicity stunt where the United Way of Cleveland released 1.4 million balloons over the city. The balloons tied up highway and air traffic, caused lawsuits seeking millions in damages, and interfered with a Coast Guard search for two boaters who were later found drowned.

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KYZKB TIL during the 13th century eating breakfast was said to be one of six ways to commit the fifth deadly sin of gluttony; and throughout the middle ages it was common to eat two meals a day - a larger meal that might include meat and wine around 11am followed by a lighter meal at dusk.
R75Q8 TIL when telephones first came into commercial use you had to whistle loudly into the receiver to get the other person's attention, as telephone bells hadn't been invented yet.
Lka6V TIL Despite the common myth that child sex abusers were victims themselves as children, multiple studies have shown that approximately 2/3rds of abusers not poly-graphed reported being victims while only 1/3rd poly-graphed (w/ immunity) reported being victims.
kbJd TIL Home Improvement for the SNES did not include a real manual. Instead, it included a fake manual with a sticker reading “Real men don’t need instructions”.
KYvVG TIL Benjamin Franklin is frequently quoted as the author, but he never said "Democracy can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury."; that is a misquote of a scottish monarchist who hated democracy