› added 6 years ago

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TIL of the Chinese social credit system, which will be used to exclude citizens from flights, schools, loans etc. Based on their "score" received from monitoring of everyday activity

neBPd TIL: Mill Ends Park in Portland Oregon is the smallest park in the World. The park is a small circle 2 ft across, with a total area of 452 square inches. Intended to be the site for a light pole; When the pole failed to appear, Dick Fagan (a columnist) planted flowers and named it after his column.
neEmb TIL that Victor Marchetti's 1974 work "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" was the first book subject to pre-publication censorship by the US government. The book was published with gaps showing where text had been excised and bold text where CIA censorship demands had been overturned by a court.
xNK1 TIL Henry Ford once refused to pay $10,000 to General Electric for fixing a generator problem and asked for an itemized bill. The engineer from the job, Charles Steinmetz, sent this: “Making chalk mark on generator, $1. Knowing where to make mark, $9,999.” Ford ended up paying the bill.
1a4P4 TIL that in many countries, such as China or Brazil, it is considered bad luck to place your purse or wallet on the floor because it will cause you financial distress or misfortune. This is because it shows you do not respect money.
BrQoy TIL that at WWII, Brazil was fighting alongside the Allies in Italy. Three Brazilian soldiers fought against a large German party until running out of o ammo and dying. When the Germans discovered they were only three soldiers, they buried them and added the inscription: "To three Brazilian heroes"