› added 3 years ago

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TIL Scott Joplin the man who revolutionized the way piano is played was turned away from backing of financial suitors because he was black and it didn't suit them. He ended up contracting syphilis and was admitted into a psychiatric hospital. He died ther and his grave was unmarked for 57 years.

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GYJE TIL That Petroleum companies bought rights to Battery patents and sued anyone who used them (with gag orders)
04VL TIL in 1955, a plaster buddha statue more than 600 years old was dropped during an attempt to move it to a new location. After some of the plaster coating was chipped off, it was revealed that the plaster was covering a statue made of solid gold.
AaDn TIL North Korea is the only nation to currently have a US Navy ship captured.
alRM TIL China has lost control of its first space station. It will be entering Earth’s atmosphere in 2017, and there is a chance that parts of the station could survive the burn, falling to Earth and causing damage or injuring people
mJBx TIL Speedo invented a swimsuit so advanced, it broke 23 of 25 world records and was banned as being classed as “technological doping”.