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TIL the Mississippi River ran backwards in 1812

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v5rr TIL Chef Boyardee of canned Ravioli fame was awarded both the Gold Star order of excellence from the US War Dept. & the Order of Lenin from Russia for supplying rations to allied troops during WWII
epKRb TIL about Abbess Mariam Soulakiotis or "Mother Rasputin", who was a serial killer active from (1939-1950) she would starve, beat, and condemn victims to tuberculosis-ridden cells. Authorities first arrested her for export of olive oil to Cyprus and the import of tires. Her victim total was 27-177.
obwW TIL of “muntzing”, a method for improving the design of electronic products: Remove components until it stops working, then put the last-removed part back in. It is named after Earl “Madman” Muntz, who used the method to cut manufacturing costs of his popular televisions in the 1940s and 50s.
OGEj7 TIL that in 2001, Warner Bros had to recall every single copy of a then-newly-released "The Powerpuff Girls" DVD because three of the DVD-ROM programs (including its installer) were accidentally infected with the "FunLove" computer virus, which would be spread to any PC that installed the software.
D1xZe TIL: A survey of 12,000 parents with children aged from five to 12 years old, in 10 countries, found almost a third of children play outside for just 30 minutes or less a day. Conclusion: Children around the world spend less time outdoors than prisoners.