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183

TIL when HP was being named, William Hewlett & David Packard were unsure of the order to put their names so they decided by simply flipping a coin. Hewlett won.

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via reddit.com

kMjB TIL Philippe Petit, then a 24 year old French high-wire artist, illegally high-wire walked between the Twin Towers 8 times over 45 minutes in 1974. Charges were dropped after he performed for kids in Central Park.
AnQw TIL that the English lyrics for the classic Christmas carol “Deck the Halls” were originally “fill the meadcup, drain the barrel” and not “don we now our gay apparel”.
kOrw4 TIL there is an island in the pacific called Yap that uses circular stones as currency. The stones are too large to move so the ownership of the stones is passed by word of mouth to transact business. The location of the stone is irrelevant even in the case of one lost on the bottom of the sea
grmDD TIL the Ball corporation, famous for their mason jars, became a defense manufacturer in aerospace engineering. Their products have been used on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the James Webb Space Telescope among other projects. They no longer directly produce glass jars.
a88dL TIL that Michael Phelps first competed in the Olympics in 2000 when he was just 15 years old, making him the youngest male to qualify for a US Olympic swim team in 68 years.