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TIL that the government of Brazil attempted to transform the country into a major manufacturer of computers in the 1980s. The import of foreign computers was banned so that people would have to use Brazilian models, which were of inferior quality since the government spent very little money on R&D.

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m1jWM TIL that performance artist Marina Abramović created a piece called "The Artist Is Present" in 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she sat silently at a table for a total of 736 hours over 3 months inviting museum visitors to sit across from her and make eye contact without speaking.
EgVwP TIL that Denzel Washington and Quentin Tarantino had a years long feud over Washington's belief that Tarantino added racist dialogue to CrimsonTide.
VM81Q TIL Between 1935-44, William Boeing and his wife set aside land outside Seattle city limits for subdivision and placed covenants to enforce segregation, forbidding properties from being "sold, conveyed, rented, or leased in whole or in part to any person not of the White or Caucasian race."
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md4R TIL that actor Rowan Atkinson, famous for his hilariously dim-witted characters like Mr. Bean and Johnny English, received his Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Oxford University prior to his acting career.