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TIL that in 1842 Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel by political rival, James Shields. Due to his towering height, Lincoln chose broadswords. When the day of the duel arrived Lincoln demonstrated his strength by chopping a nearby tree branch in half, causing Shields to back out and apologize.

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k7g TIL that pure gold is referred to as 24 carat because at one point a Roman gold coin used to weigh 24 carob seeds.
LkO60 TIL a guy tried to raise his son bilingually in English and Klingon. The experiment failed when the child got older and refused to use Klingon.
pWDQ TIL that the water between India and Sri Lanka is only 3-30 feet deep and was purportedly passable on foot until 1480 AD when a cyclone moved some sand around.
d1Od TIL In 1961 a yoga teacher was able to convince hundreds of people that she was the female reincarnation of Jesus creating a horrific cult in Australia called The Family, one of the only known cults led by a woman.
1Dd TIL the amount of charitable donations made by Americans roughly matches the national deficit.