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TIL Bob Ross used to receive up to 200 letters from fans per day. When regular letter-writers fell out of touch, he would phone them, just to see if they were ok.

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e01n TIL that the USA originally denied that atomic bombs caused lingering radioactivity, calling such claims Japanese propaganda. The New York Times ran an article with the headline “NO RADIOACTIVITY IN HIROSHIMA RUIN,” citing only military sources and ignoring eyewitness accounts of radiation sickness.
9VrG TIL that Edwin Land invented the Polaroid camera when his three year old daughter asked him why she couldn’t see a photo he had taken of her right away.
dJdr TIL in 1954, the US tested their first dry fuel nuclear bomb, “Castle Bravo”. The explosion was 3x larger than expected. The fallout affected a 100 mile radius, and material traveled as far as India and Australia. It is the most significant radioactive contamination ever caused by the US.
6eQm TIL that during Napoleons 6 day stay in Malta he; reformed national administration, created twelve municipalities, created a public finance administration, abolished all feudal privileges and slavery, framed a family code, nominated twelve judges and established public education.
VBmpm TIL Columbia Pictures refused to greenlight the 1993 film Groundhog Day without explaining why Phil becomes trapped in the same day. Producer Trevor Albert and director Harold Ramis appeased the studio, but deliberately placed the scenes too late in the shooting schedule to be filmed.