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TIL that in 1946, a four year old Australian boy was flown to San Francisco to receive cancer treatment. Instead, he got caught in a Manhattan Project experiment and was injected with plutonium. He died one year later.

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p8aa4 TIL that, despite being built in 280 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes was approximately as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
v10k7 TIL each of the main musketeers in Dumas's "The Three Musketeers" is based on a real person. Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan was indeed a Captain of the Musketeers under Louis XIV. and even served Cardinal Mazarin in espionage. His memoirs inspired the whole of the D'Artagnan romances.
5YOOn TIL Nikola Tesla was an advocate of sterilizing criminals and people with mental problems, and he believed that by 2100 people that aren't "desireable parents" shouldn't be able to breed
nw6W TIL the creator of pop-up ads, Ethan Zuckerman, apologized for its creation, saying “I’m sorry. Our intentions were good.”
7rZYZ TIL the Golden State Killer attended a public information meeting about his own attacks. A husband stood up and mocked the notion that the killer would attack if a man was present in the home. The killer followed the couple home to see where they live and returned 6 months later to attack them.