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TIL that 60 years ago 20% of East Asian young adults were near-sighted. Today 90% are. Scientists suspect this is due to a decrease in time spent outside during childhood.

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VBY50 TIL During production of The Godfather, James Caan was known to hang out with Carmine Persico, aka "The Snake", a notorious mafioso and later head of the Colombo crime family. Government agents briefly mistook Caan, who was relatively unknown at the time, as an aspiring mobster.
5VJAk TIL that to deter "train surfers", Indonesia installed concrete balls on chains above the train tracks after earlier trials of barbed wire, hosing down riders with red paint, and threatening them with dogs all failed
p1eN TIL that due to the Revenue Service Act of 1790, The US Coast Guard can board your boat any time they want, and look anywhere they want, without probable cause or a warrant.
oRWvY TIL Dr Seuss didn't have a big hit until age 53 when "Cat in the Hat" was published. He resisted writing his own life story, and only sat down for two interviews near the end when he was dying from cancer
R7RL6 TIL Elvis Presley's Graceland home is the second most-visited house in America with over 650,000 visitors a year; second only to the White House