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TIL a British company rebranded a golf ball locator device and sold it to several various militaries, and clamed it could detect explosive devices. In 2013, the inventor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud. The device was a form of dowsing rod, and profited about £1.35 million.

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K1JE TIL China stole the color white from chemical company DuPont. The firm’s closely guarded titanium oxide process is used for making cosmetics, plastics, and the chalked lines on tennis courts.
mx6AR TIL The recorder was a very serious instrument in the Renaissance, Baroque periods, and reached its zenith in the Baroque. But it was overcome by the needs of louder orchestras, and so the transverse flute [held sideways] became the instrument of choice
bnP0 TIL that while Nazis killed 6 million Jews in WW2, the Imperial Japanese slaughtered at least 23 million Chinese
rLR4 TIL Jared from Subway ran a business where he’d rent pornography out of his dormroom at Indiana University. The endeavor became so successful that the only place he had time to eat at was the Subway that opened on the 1st floor of the building.
XEBxr TIL that a county in Vermont was originally named after Thomas Jefferson. The county was renamed in 1814 due to criticism of Jefferson's record.