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TIL-Planned systemic obsolescence is deliberately making a product obsolete by altering the system in which it is used as to make its continued use difficult such as not accommodating forward compatibility in software, or changing screws so that they cannot easily be operated on with existing tools.

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e8ek TIL In 1914 the Coca-Cola Company was flooded with look-alike competitors. They requested design proposals for their product: a “bottle so distinct that you would recognize if by feel in the dark or lying broken on the ground.” It became a classic example of design patents for law students.
R7vA9 TIL Millikan's famous Oil Drop Experiment (1909), was developed with his grad student, Harvey Fletcher. Millian pressured Fletcher into allowing him sole credit, in exchange for Fletcher having sole credit for another paper.
4XvLo TIL Of the Wanggongchang gunpowder factory explosion of 1626, in Beijing, China. It killed 20,000, and was heard 150km away. Victims were stripped of their clothing due to the force of the blast. The cause has never been determined.
nWejB TIL in school I read about Nellie Bly, a female journalist in the late 1800s who got herself committed to an insane asylum to report on the conditions. She also once jumped off a ferry so she could report on the efficiency of the rescue crew!
6ylY TIL a DC Judge sued a family-owned dry cleaner for $67 Million for allegedly losing a pair of his pants. The family ultimately had to close 2 of their 3 stores to fund their defense.