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TIL in 1857 a group of Mormon militiamen in Utah dressed as Indians and slaughtered a group of 137 travelers in a wagon train crossing to California, killing all except the youngest children, who they spared and tried to raise as their own.

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9YYoX Moonlight triggers the world’s biggest orgy, strange creatures emerge from the depths, and waves glow blue. Some phenomena in the ocean can only be witnessed after dark.
oR8R TIL - Gravity Probe B has the most perfect spheres ever created by man “If GP-B gyroscope’s were enlarged to the size of the Earth, the tallest mountain would be eight feet tall.”
9ZmQ TIL that Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, was the first to be born a US citizen. All presidents prior were born British subjects.
yVWG8 TIL, Jumbo the elephant was not named such because of his size. Instead, Jumbo the word, meaning exceptionally large, was only introduced into the english language because of Jumbo the elephant. He was so big and so well known that his name became synonymous with size.
b9paE TIL that Joseph Stalin was a huge fan of John Wayne and his movies, but considered having him assassinated for his outspoken anti-communist politics.