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TIL the 2010 Flash Crash, during which the US stock market temporarily lost $1 trillion in value, was partly caused by Navinder Sarao, an autistic man living in his parents' London home. In a span of 5 years, Sarao made a profit of $40 million by tricking high frequency traders with custom software.

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kMDe TIL of The Smokey Bear effect which was an indirect result of the Smokey Bear campaign. The Smokey Bear campaign has been so successful at preventing forest fires that it has allowed trees and debris to pile up on the forest floor, indirectly resulting in forest fires that burn larger and hotter.
b9P0a TIL Fans of Michael Jackson's Thriller album believed that the UPC barcode on the album was Jackson's phone number. Because of this, a woman named Barbara Brown in Youngstown, Ohio, received upwards of 12 calls a day after Jackson won eight Grammy awards. Many believe the rumor was spread by MTV.
wLxv8 TIL George Clooney's first starring role was in "the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" called the "worst film ever made" though now considered a cult schlock classic
LkPxV TIL left handed people were retrained to write with their right hands in certain schools, even into the 1970s. This caused a stutter for some of the students.
W7v9N TIL that feeding deer too much deer corn is catastrophic for their health. It encourages the build-up of acid in the hooves, called laminitis. This acid is painful when the deer walk, so they lean on the other hooves. Since the hooves aren't properly getting worn down from walking, they grow!