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TIL originally, porcelain shipped from China to Europe was packed in tea to prevent breakages. By the late 18th century the demand for tea had grown so dramatically that instead, porcelain was shipped with tea to act as ballast

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d8J48 TIL about the Alcubierre drive, a solution of Einstein's field equations in general relativity by which a spacecraft could theoretically achieve apparent faster-than-light travel without breaking any physical laws. It would have to be made of matter of negative energy density, which may not exist.
mxBAP TIL NPR radio host Ira Glass, who has done the show "This American Life" since 1996, received a raise from $170,000 to $278,000 in 2013. Glass said this raise was "unseemly" and asked it to be lowered to $146,000.
15VO TIL that R2-D2 was named when George Lucas was dozing off while working on the Star Wars script. The sound editor asked for “Reel 2, Dialog Track 2,” and Lucas awoke momentarily and stated that it was a “great name.”
x6aOD TIL that in 1839 a state law in Missouri made it illegal for Indians to reside in the state of Missouri. The statute was reinforced as late as 1899, and only repealed in 1909.
oBW8L TIL that photographs developed from a reel left at a pharmacy in Philadelphia in 1957, seem to depict a 1957 gay wedding. The ceremony took place in a flat with the blinds drawn. The grooms are shown kissing, cutting their wedding cake and opening presents. The subjects remain unidentified.