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TIL that on August 11, 1984, Ronald Reagan joked about attacking the Soviet Union, not realizing that he was being recorded. He said “"My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”

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X0AKR TIL that Angelina Jolie once tried to hire a hitman to kill her, because she felt that a murder would be easier on her family than her committing suicide. The would-be-hitman talked her out of it by asking her to wait a month.
KBO9 TIL in 1973 NASA sent two spiders known as Arabella and Anita into space to see if the could spin a web without gravity. It took the spiders a couple days to figure out, but they eventually ended up making webs that were finer and more complex than their earth counterparts.
grv18 TIL the first balloons were made out of animal bladders and “balloon animals” were made out of animal intestines
x7B5 TIL camels were brought to Canada in 1862 to haul gold; the disastrous experiment ended in only 1 year after the camels terrorized horses and ate miners’ clothes and soap
rN6Lw TIL the state of Mississippi did not repeal Prohibition until 1966.