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5

TIL Stephen Hawking’s speech-generating device used a default American accent because he preferred it over a British one. Even when offered a modernized voice, he stuck with it, calling it his “trademark” and joking it made him sound more authoritative.

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LknLp TIL that blood being blue until coming in contact with oxygen is a myth. Veins appear blue through our skin because red wavelengths are absorbed by our skin more than blue wavelengths resulting in the appearance of blue veins.
d8YPj TIL about the "Theremin", a musical instrument that you play without physically touching it. By moving your hands closer or away from two metal antennas, you alter the theremin's surrounding electromagnetic fields and the interference causes an audible sound.
9wANp TIL that a popular asthma inhaler in the 1970s and 1980s was removed from sale in New Zealand in 1989 because its introduction and widespread use was associated with an epidemic of asthma deaths. The mortality rate declined following the withdrawal
ne7yB TIL 97% of French Cognac is exported to the USA, where the majority of consumers are African-American. WWII soldiers stationed in France returned to America with a taste for it - and by the 50s, Cognac companies marketed directly to the Black middle and upper classes through Jet and Ebony magazine.
OvV7 TIL that in July 1945, Kodak accidentally discovered the U.S. was testing atomic bombs after customers complained of “foggy” film.