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TIL about the Family Viewing Hour, a 1975 FCC policy that TV networks in the USA had to air "family-friendly" programming during the first hour of prime-time. The policy was abandoned in 1977 following a ruling by a federal court that it violated the First Amendment.

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9wAp TIL on October 21, 1978, a 20yo Australian pilot flying over the Bass Straight reported an aircraft flying 1,000ft above him. His last transmission to ATC was “it is hovering and it’s not an aircraft”. No trace of the pilot or his aircraft have been seen since.
9wOom TIL that the electricity bills of a Japanese bullet train on a 622km (386 mi) journey can be paid off with the ticket income of 16 paying-travelers on its 1,324 seats, or on average, just one passenger in each carriage.
E1N7W TIL when Mr. Potato Head was first introduced, parents were expected to supply their own potato. Federal regulations made the pieces less sharp, so Hasbro was forced to include a plastic potato with pre-made holes.
ZpRov TIL the Ancient Roman structure known as a 'vomitorium' was not designed to facilitate people's vomiting, as is commonly misunderstood; it was a type of doorway intended to accommodate crowds as they exited
OoVZY TIL that a magnitude 15 earthquake on the Richter scale would destroy the planet.