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TIL Doris Day turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honorary Academy Award and Kennedy Center Honors Award because her intense fear of flying made it impossible to accept the awards in person.

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R5bR6 TIl Wozniak has credited watching Star Trek and attending Star Trek conventions while in his youth as a source of inspiration for his starting Apple Inc.
Wkx5A TIL that Circuit city's exectutives, when suggested to by a consultant, opened a used car retailer that didn't charge transaction fees. That company, CarMax, is currently the largest used car dealership in the United States with 173 locations.
jNQRv TIL in 1909 two Latvian anarchists stole 80 pounds worth of coins from a factory across from a police station in London, sparking a two-hour chase now known as the Tottenham Outrage. The chase involved a football charging into a marsh at one point, among other incidents.
Xkgj TIL In Norway, 99% of electricity production is from hydroelectric plants. They plan to increase annual production by 15 terawatt-hours (12%) by 2020 and could double installed capacity if they build new cross-border links to ship the surplus electricity abroad.
5YYjQ Mycelium — the hidden root of mushrooms — is incredibly strong and can withstand a lot of compression and tension. Most materials are only strong from one direction. But mycology materials are tough from all directions and can absorb a lot of force without breaking. So it can withstand as much weight as a brick, but won’t shatter when you drop it or when it experiences a hard impact, said Travaglini.