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TIL American Express created the Black Card (Centurion card) amid rumors and urban legends in the 1980s that it produced an ultra-exclusive black card. Meaning rumors about the card came before the card actually existed.

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8axv4 TIL of prominent Mafia Capo and hitman Gergory Scarpa. He contracted of AIDS after receiving a blood transfusion from his close friends and family. He refused the blood from the hospital blood bank because he feared that the blood might have come from blacks. The AIDS claimed his life 2 years later.
xVp1o TIL a small town in Minnesota attempted to secede from the United States, as it could not get funding to fix it's water system, and believed that it would be easier to accept foreign aid. It received it's first "aid" in the form of a Ford squad car, and 10 cases of Jeno's Sausage Pizza Mix.
9L0p TIL that in 1947, the Los Angeles Examiner called the mother of the Black Dahlia murder victim to tell her that her daughter had won a beauty contest. Once they extracted as much information as possible, they revealed that her daughter had actually been found murdered.
A60x TIL in 1993, Mattel introduced “Earring Magic Ken”, featuring blonde highlights, purple shirt, lavender vest, necklace with a circular charm and earring in its left ear. Kitsch-minded gay men bought the doll in record numbers, making Earring Magic Ken the best-selling Ken model in Mattel’s history.
dMxr TIL that the vast majority (approx. 75%) of the world’s tornadoes occur in the central United States.