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TIL most of the Federalist Papers (51 out of 85) that defended the the United States Constitution and lead to its ratification were written by Alexander Hamilton when he was 30 year old. He was also one of the five members of the committee that made the final draft of the original constitution.

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Oopw6 TIL Nebraska's state flag once flew upside down at the state capitol for ten days before anyone noticed. Frequently listed among the worst flags in the USA by vexillologists, one state senator proposed creating a task force to redesign it, but the senate committee declined to take action.
OowEg TIL slavery was banned in the colony of Georgia for the first 15 years because the state was intended to help former inmates of debtors' prison become solvent. The colony's trustees didn't have any moral objections to slavery, they just didn't want landowners to become wealthy.
nWN0G TIL in the Congo Free State soldiers had to provide the severed hand of Congolese they shot as proof they weren’t misusing munition, but in practice the hands became a sort of currency since they allowed soldiers to save bullets, leading to them cutting the hand off living people
OGBZR TIL about Francis Henning, who made upwards of half a million counterfeit nickels. Called: Henning Nickels, many were later recovered, melted down, and made into actual nickels by the US Mint. Despite remaining illegal to own, they are a numismatic collector's item, some being relatively valuable.
epD9L TIL TV stations used to shut down for the night