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TIL in 1989, a small capsule, originally a part of a measurement device, containing highly radioactive caesium-137 was found inside the concrete wall of a Kramatorsk apartment building. By the time it was discovered, 6 residents of the building died from leukemia and 17 received doses of radiation.

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AN6Ml TIL in 1982 a crew of five sailing from Maine to Florida ran into a storm with 30-foot waves which capsized their boat. Over the next five days, two of them became delirious after drinking saltwater and walked off the dinghy into many awaiting sharks. Infection killed a third, leaving two survivors.
wodl1 TIL about Boustrophedon, a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style.
P10yE TIL about Berea College. Founded by abolitionists in 1855, it's what's called a "work college" -- every student has a job on campus alongside their classes. This keeps costs down and no student pays tuition. There are nine work colleges in the U.S. where students pay little or no tuition.
4X9E6 TIL that Rolling Stone Magazine published a 6-page article of future stand-up comic Bert Kreischer while he was attending Florida State University. The article, naming him the top partyer at the nation’s number one party school, became the inspiration for National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.
O9VX TIL that upon release of the famous YMCA song by Village People, the actual YMCA threatened to sue the band. The organization ultimately dropped the lawsuit when it noticed that membership significantly increased in the wake of the song’s popularity.