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TIL that Able Archer 83 was a war exercise conducted by NATO that panicked the Soviets into thinking they were really being attacked and so nearly launched a nuclear retaliation in response; it is now considered to be the nearest that mankind went into nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis

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MBdA TIL “Black Wall Street”, the most affluent black neighbourhood in the early 20th century, was nearly wiped out by white residents massacring the black population in 1921
QJrQk TIL David Wallerstein originated the notion of ‘Supersizing’ in 1967. Theater patrons were reluctant to order a second portion of popcorn for fear of appearing gluttonous. So he created an extra-large portion for less than the cost of two singles. Later hired by McD's he sold Ray Kroc on the idea
8njb TIL Otzi the Iceman lived 5,000 years ago. His two last meals were deer and chamois, he was likely a copper smelter, was 45 when he was killed by an arrow wound, had 61 tattoos, and probably grew up in the still existent village of Feldthurns.
4X88R TIL that Queen is the only band in the world where every member has written at least 3 number ones, meaning that the whole band is in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame
Z8GQR TIL the source of a 1964 Typhoid outbreak in Scotland was traced to a river in Argentina. A meat processing plant there used polluted river water for cooling tins of canned beef. Somewhere there was a leak, which contaminated the meat before it was shipped to Scotland, where it killed 3 people.