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TIL early WWII torpedoes were so unreliable that on one patrol, the USS Tinosa fired 15 torpedoes with only 2 exploding. Earlier, the USS Sargo fired 13 torpedoes with zero successes.

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klK1 TIL a “Banana Equivalent Dose” is used to measure radiation. It is the potential radioactive dose due to naturally occurring radioactive isotopes by eating one average sized banana. Bananas are literally used for scale!
jNl5p TIL Equifax was started by two grocer brothers that used to document the creditworthiness of their customers, make copies of the list, and sell it to other grocery stores in the area so they could know which customers to extend credit to
1aJDO TIL before the invention of elevators, and for many years after, a building’s lowest floors were for the wealthy and the higher floors were for servants, storage or the poor.
nWeMW TIL that children start to notice when someone is recording them at around 2.5 years of age
awKwL TIL in Germany you can’t be prosecuted if you help a close family member to hide the body of someone they murdered. The state regards the inseverability of family as a greater good than its own desire to prosecute crime.