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TIL that “Nigerian Prince” style scams began in the 1980s via postal mail, with letters addressed to women’s husbands asking what to do with multi-million dollar investments hidden in Nigeria. The spread of email lowered the costs and increased the effectiveness of these scams.

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9wV9m TIL monster EXTREME UV lithography machines make AI chips with a laser burning hotter than the sun spitting out molten drops of tin to create plasma that emits tiny UV waves which then hits a bunch of vacuum mirrors for focus before landing on a photomask for printing on silicon 🤯
wLkPM TIL that when a whale dies in cold waters, its body falls to the ocean floor creating its own ecosystem which can last for decades.
aXQM TIL that The Shawshank Redemption’s director and writer, Frank Darabont, was offered $2.5 million from Rob Reiner to let him write and direct it instead, and cast Tom Cruise as Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. Darabont refused, saying that this was his “chance to do something really great.”
OodRR TIL the first country to recognize Greek independence was not any of the western powers, but Haiti, who alledgedly sent 25ton of Coffee beans to finance their rebellion
VBrNG TIL the only Indian POW held in Colditz Castle during WWII, Birendra Nath Mazumdar, was shunned by his fellow inmates. To improve his odds of escaping, he staged a hunger strike to get transferred to an all-Indian camp. It worked & he escaped from the new camp & walked 900km to Switzerland & freedom