› added 4 years ago

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TIL Philips developed a double-sided video cassette and player to rival the VHS and Betamax formats called ‘Video 2000’. Similar in nature to an audio tape it was capable of 8 hours of recording (4 hours per side). Ultimately the product remained unpopular and lost out in the ‘videotape format war’.

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4yjo TIL women in China get 98 days of government-funded maternity leave by default, an extra 15 days for difficult childbirths, and even a shortened maternity leave up to 42 days for miscarriages. Also, if women have a late childbirth (after the age of 23) they can get an extra month of leave or more.
Me7GV TIL that Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine and it tasted so good it was considered the best wine served at the wedding according to the Bible (John 2:1-11).
1a8NV TIL for several years the CIA paid sex workers to bring men back to a “safehouse” brothel so they could secretly dose them with LSD and watch what happened through a two-way mirror in an effort to find a mind control drug.
16yA8 TIL that the first laws outlawing food coloring were in regards to bread. White bread was expensive and some bakers added chalk to lighten dark bread. King Edward I (1272-1307) created a law saying anyone caught using whiteners in bread would be put in the public pillory for one hour.
KGx6 TIL John Oliver has full creative freedom over Last Week Tonight, including free reign to criticize corporations, thanks to HBO’s ad-free subscription model