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TIL an inmate named Charles Justice was released early on parole for designing improvements to the electric chair, using metal instead of leather for the wrist restraints. Months later, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by the same chair he had improved

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ep95J TIL that Mary Anderson invented the first functional windshield wiper in 1903 after observing a New York City streetcar driver struggling to see through snow, but she never profited from her invention.
J1LRm TIL on Dec 16, 1962 John Paul Scott escaped Alcatraz and swam to Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge where he was found hypothermic and exhausted. It is the only verified case of an inmate escaping and reaching shore by swimming. He was then returned to Alcatraz.
av50 TIL that flamboyant pianist Liberace almost died on Nov 22, 1963 after inhaling dry cleaning fumes from his newly cleaned costumes. What saved him from death, he said, was being woken up by his entourage to the news that JFK had been assassinated
oRvB7 TIL Hollywood needed the support of the mob to make the film The Godfather. The Italian League insisted that if any mention of mafia or la cosa nostra was stricken from the script and proceeds donated from the movie’s premiere to the Italian League, they wouldn’t obstruct the filming.
v1jy7 TIL India’s “Go Air” airline only hires female flight attendants since they are lighter by weight, so they save up to $500,000 USD per year in fuel