› added 7 years ago

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TIL that William Adams, an English navigator during the 1600's, became the first of his nation to reach Japan, and was recognized as one of the first ever Western samurai.

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neE7b TIL American socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein was introduced to her billionaire husband, Alec N Wildenstein, by a Saudi arms dealer named Adnan Khashoggi. In 1999, she received $2.5 billion in the divorce and $100 million each year after for 13 years. She declared bankruptcy in 2018.
0drZA TIL orbital trajectories can be patented, and a telecommunications satellite was once abandoned after a necessary maneuver turned out to be owned by Boeing.
oer TIL there was a Eurozone of the 19th century: the Latin Monetary Union. With many of the same countries, plus Switzerland! It dissolved mainly because of the weak Greek economy & unwitting bailouts of France and Italy.
QN0wM TIL that the 'vaquita' is currently the most endangered cetacean. There are presumably only 10 vaquita's left in the world.
J1LQ8 TIL that when Consuelo Velázquez wrote her most famous song in 1932, Bésame mucho ("Kiss me a lot"), she had, according to her, never been kissed yet at the time.