› added 6 years ago

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TIL about Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish adventurer who convinced hundreds to invest their life savings in "Poyais", a fictional Central America territory that he claimed to rule as "Cazique". About 250 emigrated to the supposed country to find only untouched jungle. More than half of them died.

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O7kX TIL that the ZIP in ZIP Code stands for: Zone Improvement Plan
Lob9 TIL The first Playboy Mansion became a student dormitory after the company donated it to the Art Institute of Chicago. The building was renamed Hefner Hall.
LGeP TIL a Bill Ripken baseball card with the words “fuck face” written on the bat he’s holding went into circulation unnoticed.
WBpd TIL in 1987, a former airline worker shot his boss mid-flight, causing the stewardess to tell the pilot “We have a problem!”. The pilot asked “What kind of problem?” and at that moment, the man shot the stewardess dead & announced “I’m the problem” before murdering the pilots and crashing the plane
5YpR TIL on this day in 1977 (15/08/1977) a signal was received on the Big Ear Telescope in Ohio that is thought to be from outside our Solar System. No signal of this type has been received before or since this.