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TIL: The ZM-87 is one of only a few laser weapons ever produced but stopped production a result of the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons ban.

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Ogka TIL that Sesame Street’s Count von Count penchant for numbers is not only a pun on his name, but vampire legends often indicate arithomania, or a fixation on counting small objects.
eYxD TIL: Scottish economist Adam Smith predicted in his book the Wealth of Nations (1776) that, if given representation in Parliament, in a century the Thirteen Colonies would control the British Empire. By 1913, the USA’s economy surpassed the entire British Empire.
5bQ9 TIL of 211, a 24/7 hotline run by the United Way that connects people in need with assistance programs that may help them.
N79mJ TIL "Bridget Loves Bernie" was the #5 TV show of the 1972-73 season but was canceled after one year due to the controversy of its story of a wealthy Catholic girl marrying a Jewish cab driver. It was the highest-rated show ever to be canceled after one year.
VMPdQ TIL about the Great Storm of Galveston in 1900. The category 4 hurricane brought winds of 130 mph and tides of 15 feet. Upwards of 8,000 people were killed overnight. After the storm the city built a sea wall and raised building that survived by 10 feet!