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TIL in 1981 a fire at the Las Vegas Hilton killed 8 guests and injured hundreds. A busboy initially praised as a hero for warning guests of the fire was later convicted of setting the blaze. The busboy claimed he accidentally set the fire while smoking a joint on his break.

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xV6lB TIL that on this day (11/13) in 1947, the Soviet Union completed development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles.
9wbVB TIL the term "fragging" originated during the highly unpopular Vietnam War, when U.S. soldiers would kill a fellow soldier, usually a superior, using a fragmentation grenade to make it look accidental.
8aakL TIL in 1996 an instrument failure caused a plane to lose control and crash just after takeoff, killing 189 people. It was later determined that the device used to measure airspeed was blocked by a wasp nest
nWWPr TIL that the head of the Buffalo ASPCA helped develop the electric chair and experimented with it on hundreds of stray dogs.
gMBDL TIL Although the custom is relatively recent, larvae are used frequently by several brands of mezcal to give flavor to the drink. A whole larva is deposited in the bottle, normally after having previously been cured in pure alcohol. Today, several brands are doing this including Patron.