› added 9 years ago

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TIL a study found that people who like randomly generated ‘pseudo-inspirational’ quotes (quotes that don’t mean anything, e.g. “A wet person does not fear the rain”) on social media websites are also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, alternative medicine and the paranormal.

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69vdW TIL Professional poker great Stu Ungar overdosed on drugs during the third day of the 1990 World Series of Poker Main Event, but he had already assembled such a great chip lead that he was able to make the final table and finish 9th in the tournament without playing another hand.
W7obo TIL a scientist hired his family to refine radium in their basement for 20 years, with the waste buried in the backyard. The property was declared a Superfund site and cost $70M to clean up. His body was exhumed for testing and had the largest amount of radioactive material ever detected in a human.
6BGX TIL that there is a court that “meets in secret, hears only the arguments of the government prior to deciding a case and its rulings cannot be appealed or even reviewed by the public” that is responsible for ruling when the government can spy on its citizens.
WkmrB TIL Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army. At the peak of his career, he received his draft notice for a two-year stint in the army. Fans sent tens of thousands of letters to the army asking for him to be spared, but Elvis refused to decline. He was sworn as an army private on March 24, 1958.
N7VAe TIL that hummingbirds are only native to the Americas.