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TIL Nokia 1100 phone, originally sold for under $100, reached the price of over $32,000 in 2009 as criminals discovered that it can receive SMS messages for another phone number, thus allowing to intercept sensitive information like one-time passwords for online banking

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ALrl TIL of a man who survived a shipwreck in 1628 and transformed into a murderous dictator over the remaining survivors. He and his henchmen killed over 100 men, women and children over a 2 month period while stranded. Ultimately he was overcome by a group loyal to the ship’s captain and was executed.
GARxN TIL in 1945 the captain of a US Destroyer refused an order to scuttle the damaged ship as there were children on board. He returned the ship safely to port and was awarded the Silver Star
VM1Xp TIL that the majority of Amtrak's delays are due to freight railroads giving priority to their own trains over passenger trains. Even though this is explicitly against the law, only 1 violator has ever been charged by the Dept. of Justice in the entire 47 year history of Amtrak.
N7y0E TIL over 15 to 20 networks rejected the Duffer Brothers' "Stranger Things" series, saying no one would be interested in a Sci-Fi horror that revolves around kid protagonists. One executive said they need to make it a kids show or have an adult character (Jim Hopper) be the main protagonist instead.
ZZ8B TIL the stuff in toothpaste that makes orange juice taste bad also works as a shark repellant at high concentrations.