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TIL a book named Agrippa was released in 1992 that can only be read once before it destroys itself. It also includes a floppy disk with a 300 word poem designed to corrupt itself after a single read. It cost $450.

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awgML TIL Astronaut Gus Grissom was accused of prematurely blowing the hatch on the Liberty 7 space capsule, causing it to sink. He maintained the hatch blew on its own without his intervention. He later died in the Apollo 1 capsule fire because of a complicated hatch that would not blow quickly enough.
BgLgd TIL Mohammad is the most popular boys' name in Berlin, Germany.
a8JQA TIL that in the hours just before and after Arthur C. Clarke's death, five supernovae were observed, a record, with one of them being the farthest object ever seen with the naked eye
Wk1GN TIL a plan to restore a small islands ecosystem severely backfired when cats were brought to the island to fend off a rat invasion, and rabbits to supply food for stranded seamen. This resulted in the islands vegetation stripped 40% bare and two species of birds being exterminated.
W775B TIL that the Capitol was designed to have George Washington's tomb on public display. Both houses passed bills saying he should be buried there, and his wife consented, but due to various delays it took until 1830 for it to be viable. After an attempted theft of his head, the project was cancelled.