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TIL that during the 1980s, anti-nuclear groups mapped the locations of ICBM silos in South Dakota. This was not a security risk because the Soviets already knew the sites of all the missiles.

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XEm4j TIL In 1920, a comedian called Harold Lloyd lost two fingers after picking up what he assumed to be a lit prop bomb at a photo shoot, that turned out to be a real bomb. It took 8 months to recover, and for the rest of his career, he had to wear a prosthetic.
gMJ58 TIL a 25-barrel gun was used in an assassination attempt on the King of France in 1835. It fired over 400 projectiles at once and killed 18 people. The assassin was badly injured by exploding barrels, and tracked down by the trail of blood.
gMNJX TIL that from 1746 until the precedent was overturned in 1996, English law considered bagpipes not a musical instrument, but a weapon of war.
RW9j TIL The oldest console video game world record was set by Todd Rogers on “Dragster” for the Atari 2600 in 1982. According to the game’s programmers, the fastest possible time coded was 5.54 seconds. Rogers finished in 5.51.
DQDne TIL The vast majority of Australia's naval fleet is moored at two different military facilities, located more than 3,900 kilometers apart. By sheer coincidence, both facilities are named "Garden Island".