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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/NateNate60 on 2025-07-30 21:07:40+00:00.

Original Title: TIL in 1975, Stephen Hawking wagered to cosmologist Kip Thorne a subscription to Penthouse (an adult magazine) that Cygnus X-1 would not turn out to be a black hole. Hawking lost the bet but was okay with it because if he had won, much of his research would’ve been proven wrong.