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TIL because of a 1954 report on illiteracy, Houghton Mifflin's edu director gave Theodor Geisel with a list of 348 words he thought 1st graders should learn, asking Geisel to cut it down to 250 and to use those words to write a book. Geisel returned using 236 of them in his book, The Cat in the Hat.

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1a7Rd TIL that after the Unabomber demanded his manifesto be published in a major newspaper in order to cease his attacks, Penthouse offered to publish it. His response was that he hoped for a more "respectable" outlet, but if no one else agreed, he would let them publish but he would bomb one more time.
yQLDM TIL that the total size of the entire British Army, at the start of the American Revolutionary War, was only 48,647 soldiers
d8mw7 TIL that the widespread myth that HIV was created by the USA government was originally spread as a disinformation campaign by the KGB, in an operation called Infektion
W7d74 TIL that Hollywood Star Clark Gable enlisted as an aerial gunner during WWII, flew on several combat missions, and was nearly killed in one. Hitler, a fan of Gable, offered a substantial reward for anyone who could shoot down and capture him alive.
b95Z0 TIL that NFL QB Terry Bradshaw had elbow surgery in 1983 and told the Steelers that he would be ready to play that year. Because of this, they didn't draft future HOF QB Dan Marino. Bradshaw only played one more game, reinjuring his elbow and retiring. The Steelers didn't win another SB for 26 years