› added 4 years ago

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TIL that after the 1980 Irpina Earthquake hit Southern Italy, the corruption was so bad that only 1/4 of the 40 billion dollar rebuilding fund got spent on relief. The rest got distributed among politicians and the mafia.

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W7OEN TIL A Black Woman who was mentally ill tried to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 10 years before James Earl Ray actually succeeded.
OomM7 TIL Chester Cheetah wasn't the original mascot for Cheetos. Instead it was a mouse simply named the Cheetos Mouse, as it was decided a mouse would be the perfect pick since mice love cheese. It wasn't until 1986 when Chester Cheetah came along and Cheetos Mouse faded to obscurity.
e0gKn TIL that, when Dustin Hoffman did his make up test for Tootsie he said to the make up artist ""Now make me a beautiful woman." He was told, "That's as good as it gets." Realising how poorly he had treated women who looked just like him in the past, he went home cried.
mxpZv TIL that a farmer called Almon Strowger invented automatic telephone switching because he didn't trust his local telephone operator. She was the wife of his competition and Strowger suspected that she was diverting requests for his services to her husband’s business instead.
jmXM TIL in 1989 Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote and played the bass line for Young MC’s “Bust a Move” and he never received a songwriting credit or any royalties from it. He was paid $200 for his studio time and the song went on to become a #1 hit and sell millions of records.