› added 5 years ago

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TIL about the Peshtigo fire the deadliest wildfire in US history that killed around 1500 people. It's almost unknown because the more famous Great Chicago Fire happened on the same day.

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via reddit.com

LkgvV TIL that The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel was originally a flop, which led to the breakup of the duo. A year later a Columbia record producer remixed electric instruments and drums and rereleased the song. It became a huge hit worldwide and gave the duo reason to reunite.
xV6PD TIL the average distance between any two of Facebook's 1.6 billion users is 4.57 steps of "friend of a friend"
nPkd TIL Independence, Missouri has a juvenile court ran by juveniles. There is a kid for the judge, kid lawyers, and the decisions are legally binding.
xVBD5 TIL thousands of sheep died in Dugway in 1968 due to a chemical weapons test
nXZY TIL that in 1861 a slave took over a confederate ship and delivered it to the Union. He was then given the ship to command during the Civil War. After the war, he bought the very house he was a slave in and became a U.S. congressman.