› added 3 weeks ago

5

TIL that cereal company General Mills had an Aeronautical Research Division that produced spy balloons for the American military and the CIA

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D19EY TIL decaffeinated coffee was discovered in 1903 by accident by Ludwig Roselius, head of German coffee company Kaffee HAG. One of his shipments got swamped by seawater in transit, leaching out the caffeine but not the flavour. Roselius worked out an industrial method to repeat it.
W018 TIL the US plan to convince North Korean pilots to defect for a cash reward was called “Operation Moolah”
d8vyd TIL While Steven Tyler was judging American Idol, Aerosmith briefly considered Sammy Hagar for lead vocals and would have changed their name had the deal gone through.
yVAOa TIL how criminals launder money
LkB6r TIL John Prine's first ever review appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times after the movie critic (who didn't usually review music) randomly saw him perform at a bar and was compelled to write something. The critic's name: Roger Ebert