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TIL that the US uses less water now than it did in 1970

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dpl9 TIL that in 1981 IBM asked Microsoft for a 16-bit operating software. Microsoft didn’t have one and didn’t want to build one, so they spent $75,000 on someone else’s software, tinkered with it a bit and MS-DOS was born.
WXnA TIL that Robert De Niro was so dedicated, to prepare for his roles, he actually gained 60 lbs for Raging Bull, lived in Sicily Italy for The Godfather Part II, ground his teeth for Cape Fear, became a cab driver for Taxi Driver, and learned to play the saxophone for New York, New York.
Wkx0N TIL Psychologists are interested in magicians because they've been doing experiments for centuries and built a lot of techniques. Tricks rely on manipulating expectations, misdirecting, and can influence decision-making – all things that intrigue psychologists.
OEbR TIL that in the past, muffins were sold by streethawkers door to door as a snack bread before most houses were provided with ovens in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, giving rise to the traditional song “Do you know the Muffin Man?”
9mWQ TIL On 29 September 2008 from one single day $1.2 trillion had been wiped off from the United States stock market. It was the worst single day drop for two decades.