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TIL In 1940s, Pepsi saw African Americans as an untapped niche market. Pepsi adverts portrayed them in a positive light - in a time with racial segregation. Pepsi faced threats from KKK. Their market share increased by 1950s. African Americans were 3 times more likely to buy Pepsi than Coca Cola.

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x6JbD TIL the longest word in the English language has 189,819 letters and takes about three and a half hours to pronounce. It is the chemical name for the protein Titin. This word is so long that it is rarely, if ever, written out in full. (link to PDF of full name)
5YP1p TIL Artie Lange was paid $140k in one night to perform two shows at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week 2007, his highest paid stand up gig at that point. After gambling, hookers, and drugs, he spent $145k that trip.
OnDg TIL George Washington quelled an officer insurrection by putting on a new pair of spectacles while reading a letter to the group stating “Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind.” Many officers were moved to tears
X0J9X TIL: three different cardiac surgeons (Norwood, Glenn, Fontan) independently came up with surgeries to fix babies’ congenital heart defects. Nowadays the surgeries are done one after another as part of one mega treatment (“staged” reconstruction)
dDMaQ TIL of Macadam roads. These roads were convex, raised a few inches, and made of layered crushed rock; they were state-of-the-art for the 19th century. The rise of automobiles led to the dust issues that were solved by binding the roads with tar, leading to the invention of tarmac.