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TIL the origins of the bachata. The bachata (which translates to "party, good time") was condemned by Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo as música cachivache, or music of little worth, due to its associations with poor, working class people.

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Yp5MW TIL the sci-fi technology of the "mass driver" or electromagnetic catapult is real. The first prototype was built in 1977 for only $2,000, and the device was theorized by a sci-fi writer in 1937.
loO5A TIL many pioneers of breakdancing credit their exposure to Kung Fu from watching Bruce Lee movies, which were popular among African American audiences, with having a large influence on the improvised acrobatics and dance battles that are often associated with the dance style
xRpg TIL in 1963 a 16 year old sent a four-question survey to 150 well-known authors (75 of which replied) in order to prove to his English teacher that writers don’t intentionally add symbolic content to their books.
Pw4O TIL that a young stripper named Shelly Bauman lost her leg in a freak confetti cannon accident. She sued and used the money from the settlement to open Seattle’s first gay bar, which she named “Shelly’s Leg.”
a8WYA TIL of the Maidenhead Railway Bridge in England. When it was built, its arches were the widest and flattest in the world. Critics feared the bridge was unstable, so the arches' centering was left in place, until it was destroyed in a storm - the arches stayed up, vindicating the design.