› added 8 years ago

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TIL that in 1893 Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced the queen to abdicate. The coup led to the dissolving of the Kingdom of Hawaii two years later, its annexation as a U.S. territory and eventual admission as the 50th state in the union.

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Wk9g8 TIL Warren Buffet, a billionaire worth ~$50 billion, was audited by the IRS in 1944 when he was 14 for making more than $500 during his paper route. He filed a tax return and was able to get a $45 return for bicycle maintenance and a broken watch.
4X68w TIL Before he was a famous musician Johnny Cash was a military code breaker for the US Air Force. He worked as a as a Morse Intercept Operator in Germany, handling the hardest jobs, intercepting Russian intelligence & deciphering code transmissions. He copied the 1st news of Stalin’s death.
wLR7M TIL that in 1984, British new wave pop group Thompson Twins released a video game on a vinyl record. Players had to copy the game from the vinyl disc to a cassette tape, which could then be played on a ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64 computer.
xVEZo TIL - The inventor of the USB had originally intended for it to be flippable, however that idea was scrapped due to the extra cost. Despite USB becoming the standard, he still regrets that decision. "In hindsight, we blew it," he said.
NXOZe TiL about Bubbly Creek, a fork in the Chicago river still bubbling from meat packing plants dumping their waste in the early 20th century.