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TIL Alcatraz was once the only federal penitentiary in the U.S. that provided hot showers for its inmates. Prison staff reasoned that inmates who were used to warm, comfortable water would not be able to withstand the freezing San Francisco Bay during an escape attempt.

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D1awD TIL in 1934, Swiss banking secrecy laws were strengthened to encourage Jews of Central & Eastern Europe, fearful of Nazis, to hide their assets in Swiss banks. After a majority of those depositors died during the Holocaust, the laws were used to wrongfully deny their heirs access to those accounts
vNor TIL Europe was called the “Far West” in the Far East
deQ TIL there was a phantom island off the coast of Ireland called Hy-Brasil, which was not discounted till 1865, seven years before its last sighting.
9n1Q TIL that only 15 states in the US require a minimum age for a child to be home alone. Most states go by a child’s maturity rather then age.
oEx7 TIL of the World Health Organization “Cocaine Project,” which was banned from publication because it concluded that, “occasional cocaine use does not typically lead to severe or even minor physical or social problems,” among other positives