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TIL that most pencils are yellow because in the 1880s one manufacturer chose that color to indicate they were luxury pencils

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DQpyV TIL the reason why it's called upper and lower case letters is because when Gutenberg created his printing press the letter blocks were kept in wooden cases and the small letters were stored below the capital letters, ergo; lower case letters🤯
pMDe TIL a guy showed up to the I-40 bridge collapse and took command of the federal disaster response by impersonating a US Army Captain. He led the response effort for two days before fleeing.
EVVV TIL that the EPA used to chase commercial jets down the runway with a heavily modified Plymouth originally meant for NASCAR competition. The car stayed in the jet wash the entire time. At $25,000, they determined this to be the cheapest way of collecting emissions data for airliners
xVkV0 TIL in 1970 Hunter S. Thompson ran for sheriff of Pitkin Cty., CO and lost. His "Freak Power" program included disarming policemen, renaming Aspen "Fat City", punishing dishonest drug dealers, harassing those committing "land-rape" and limiting hunting and fishing to residents.
59wk TIL the whoopee cushion was invented by Elagabalus, a 14-year-old Roman Emperor who often used it at dinner parties. He was assassinated at the age of 18.