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TIL that in 1948, one of the deadliest earthquakes of all time occurred in The Soviet Union, killing 110,000 people; two thirds of an entire cities population

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gMJpL TIL NORAD's annual Santa Tracker program originated from a child misdialing a Santa Claus hotline in 1955, instead calling a U.S. Air Force Colonel at the Continental Air Defense Command.
eO1n TIL M&M’s turned down the opportunity to be featured in Steven Spielberg’s movie ET due to the flop of his previous film 1941, Spielberg then contacted a struggling Hershey’s who put $1 million into promoting the film - Within two weeks of release Hershey’s had tripled their sales.
peyA TIL that there is no evidence that iron maidens were actually used as medieval torture devices. They were pieced together in the 18th century for exhibition in order to shock museum patrons.
5YKZ9 TIL the Bopal Chemical Disaster in India, where a methyl-isocyanate leak (500 times deadlier than hydrogen cyanide) from a factory killed more than 8000 residents in one night. The MIC leak went undetected due to the factory's earlier removal of the alarm siren in order to not disturb its neighbours
nepdb TIL that Kate Bush, global art rock icon (e.g., 1978 hit "Wuthering Heights"), is pretty much unknown in the United States, despite her incredible success in the rest of the world (everyone of her albums having gone platinum in the UK) .