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TIL college textbook prices increased 90% from 1998 to 2016 while recreational book prices fell by more than 35% in the same time period

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vkV8 TIL that starting in 1910, a series of books were published featuring a fictional boy-inventor by the name of Tom Swift. One of these books was titled “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle.” Many years later, this led to the naming of the TASER that police now carry: “Tom A. Swift Electric Rifle”
4Xgoa TIL the creator of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, became increasingly upset at the commercialisation of the holiday and in 1943 even started a petition to rescind it
7rGPL TIL that half of the US population lives in just 146 counties out of the 3000+ total.
eOG4 TIL that in 1971 the body of Xin Zhui, a Chinese noblewoman who died in 163 BCE, was discovered remarkably preserved. Her skin was soft and moist, with muscles that still allowed for her arms and legs to flex at the joints.
N7Ome TIL that the parachute was invented before the airplane