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TIL of Catherine Yasinchuk, a Ukrainian woman who was wrongly institutionalized for 48 years in a Philadelphia asylum because she did not speak English and no one understood her. She’d come to the USA alone at the age of 15, and suffered a nervous breakdown after losing her husband and baby.

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epDkJ TIL that Hermione was based on J.K. Rowling: the author loosely based the character on herself when she was 11 years old, and chose an otter as Hermione's patronus as it's her favourite animal. She also took the name from Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale and didn't want a popular name
NX59Q TIL - All Earth tides originate in the southern oceans, the only place on Earth where a circumventing wave resulting from the tidal force of the Moon can travel with no restrictions from land barriers.
J1DXV TIL Fender Guitars conducted research and discovered that 90% of beginners cease playing the guitar within a year. The remaining 10%, however, buy 5-7 guitars and multiple amps, spending an average of $10,000 on equipment throughout their lives.
X0wXE TIL about Cash for Clunkers, which was a program designed to stimulate sales of new, fuel-efficient cars in the wake of the Great Recession, but was criticized for disrupting the used car market, and for scrapping exotic cars
NXdQP TIL the Kimberly Process, by which diamonds are certified as "conflict-free", has been largely abandoned as ineffective. Due to corruption and smuggling it is essentially impossible to tell if a gem is a blood diamond or not.