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TIL in 1947 the British used 6800 tonnes of surplus WW2 explosives to destroy military infrastructure on the tiny island of Heligoland. Loss of the island was acceptable. The explosion resulted in one of the largest single non-nuclear detonations recorded. Newsreel footage in comments.

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e0olL TIL Lenny Lipton, The man who wrote the children's song "Puff the Magic Dragon" also invented the modern method of projecting 3-D movies
LQrVp TIL in 2023, the Iowa Pork Producers Assn. launched an ad campaign featuring the Iowa State College football players Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann, and Caleb Bacon. The four men have their backs to the camera, so their jerseys read: "PURCHASE MOORE HAMANN BACON"
9Yx97 TIL that Penn Station was actually once an elegant, beautiful building that was torn down in the 1960s, which caused such outrage that it led to the historical preservation of many of New York's buildings today.
16b87 TIL the Cocos (Keeling) Islands were once ruled by a Scottish dynasty and considered a micronation. Established in the 19th century, they witnessed unique events, including the settlement of a White Rajah and a population largely brought against their will. Australia bought the islands the 1970s.
8aoeV TIL of xenobots; Synthetic lifeforms designed by AI which are part robot, part organism, the size of a grain of sand and capable of performing tasks such as pushing payloads, cleaning debris, working together in swarms and even reproduce new xenobots