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TIL in 1968, the U.S. Army accidentally released 160 gallons of VX nerve gas in Utah, killing over 6,000 sheep and sparking public outrage that helped end America’s biological weapons program.

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xVbbB TIL in 1954, Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev could not get funding to pursue a space program, so he planted a fake new-story claiming Russia was going to launch a satellite. The US responded that they were also going to launch one, so the Soviets then agreed to fund the program.
valr TIL that America has a set of giant stone slabs, etched with “rules” for post-apocalyptic humanity in many different languages. It can be used to chart the sun and stars, and warns against “petty laws and useless officials”. No one knows who funded creation of the monument.
MeWe7 TIL the band Jefferson Airplane whose arguably most famous song "White Rabbit" was used in the trailer for "The Matrix Resurrection" was formed in 1965 after singer Marty Balin invested in opening a club called "The Matrix".
8e1XK TIL when the Guinness World Records stopped monitoring the record for the longest time to stay awake in 1997, the record holder at the time was Robert McDonald who stayed awake for 18 days 21 hours and 40 minutes in 1986.
x644b TIL Rudy Kurniawan sold an estimated $150 million worth of fraudulent wine between 2002-2012, which he produced himself in his California home. His scheme started to unravel when wine producer Domaine Ponsot caught him selling Ponsot wines that were never made. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison