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TIL that Lucius Cincinnatus, a Roman statesman and military leader was given absolute power to rule the empire when it was attacked. After his victory, he immediately resigned his post as Dictator and went back to farming. The city of Cincinnati is named in his honor.

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RA77 TIL that in 1986, when a five year old boy fell into a gorilla enclosure and lost consciousness, a gorilla named Jambo stood between the boy and the other gorillas in a protective gesture, he even stroke the boys back. This incident helped create a positive public perception of gorillas.
JlLk TIL the two biggest private prison organizations in the US have clauses in their contracts that require the prisons to stay at least 90% full at all times.
p6Lb TIL on April 1, 1980, BBC news ervice “reported” that the Big Ben will get a digital readout, and that the clock hands will be given to the first four listeners to call. Later on, BBC received a massive amount of phone calls from angry protestors, and ended up spending several days to apologize.
DOZp TIL only 13% of Molly seized in NY contained MDMA. The synthetic formula mimics some of the effects but constantly changes to avoid regulation. Any time the gov’t bans a compound, the chemists simply alter the formula with no regard to the effect of its users, targeting 12-17 yr olds as guinea pigs.
8aarb TIL In a comedy sketch satarising 1960s attitudes to homosexuality Monty Python predicted Furry Fandom decades before it became a thing.