› added 11 years ago

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TIL that Harry Truman, due to his very poor eyesight, secretly memorized the eye charts in order to enlist in the Missouri Army National Guard

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BgE9L TIL: The Capacitor Plague, where capacitors had much higher failure rates between 1999 and 2007, as the formula was miscopied when a scientist stole it through corporate espionage in Japan. They returned to China and gave it to their previous employer, who put the faulty formula into production.
VBRg0 TIL For its 21st edition, The Guinness Book of Records became the biggest-selling copyright book in history with sales totalling 23,950,000. The 2024 book is its 70th edition
awB4Z TIL that to apply to become a communist party member in China, you need to write periodic "thought reports" for two years, detailing your opinions on society and about your personal life. Additionally you have to attend classes once a week for three months and pass a final exam.
a8g70 TIL about Armin Meiwes; a German cannibal who killed and ate Bernd-Jürgen Brandes in 2001, as part of a cannibalistic fantasy both men shared. Brandes explicitly filmed his consent for the ordeal on camera. . In 2006, Meiwes was sentenced to life imprisonment.
rNX0M TIL Ike Barinholtz, Morgan on The Mindy Project, the typecast lovable idiot who also has a brother who plays a similar role in Superstore was in Celebrity Jeopardy and was so good got to the Tournament of Champions. I guess his portrayal was so good I can't see him as anything else.