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TIL Microsoft had to fly in the Photographer of the "Bliss" Image (XP Background), because no courier service had an insurance which would have covered the six figure price tag on the Photograph/Original Negative

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nA9B TIL that Thomas Jefferson impregnated one of his slaves, and then enslaved his child. (And quite possibly five more)
Y88A TIL that a self-filling water bottle is being developed that draws moisture from the air - up to three liters every hour. It works by mimicking the way a beetle survives in the African desert.
mx0bO TIL that my hometown, Bologna - in Italy - freed all the slaves, and thence banned slavery, in 1256 AD. To celebrate the newly freed men, they had all their names written down in a document called Liber Paradisus (Heaven's Book).
ldw1 TIL that toll roads in Illinois were only supposed to be open for 40 years to pay off bonds by 1990.
jNRKE TIL that the Turkish Embassy in DC played a vital role in desegregating Jazz scene. Two teenage sons of the ambassador would often organize events in the embassy inviting black and white artists to perform together. One of these sons went on to start Atlantic Records.