› added 10 years ago

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TIL that when a Holocaust denial group offered $50,000 dollars to “prove that Jews were gassed at Auschwitz,” a camp survivor, Mel Mermelstein sent them definitive proof. When they refused to pay, he sued them and was given $90,000 when the court noted, “It is simply a fact.”

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via reddit.com

j6nBa TIL that when designing the Hewlett-Packard 9100A desktop calculator, Bill Hewlett insisted that it be small enough to fit on his desk's typewriter stand. The prototype was slightly too large. A HP carpenter secretly modified the desk so the calculator would fit.
D1w9r TIL that the Lord of the Rings film trilogy brought the country of New Zealand so much attention, that the government of New Zealand has a "Minister of the Rings", who is responsible for all affairs involving the production of LOTR in New Zealand.
976X TIL Plastic dishes can’t absorb enough heat to evaporate water, which is why the dishwasher dry cycle doesn’t work on them
QJYl9 TIL Boric acid (AKA Borax) was added to expired milk to feed babies in the Victorian Era. It was believed to "purify" the milk and rid it of its sour taste and smell. The boric acid fed on the bovine TB in the milk, effectively giving babies tuberculosis.
YpYpx TIL Iranian F-14s downed over 160 Iraqi MiGs while incurring only 3 losses. Unable to counter the F-14, Saddam Hussein fooled Iran into thinking its U.S. trained F-14 pilots were plotting against them. As a result, Iran grounded its entire F-14 fleet.