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TIL that Maria Theresa of Austria had her children inoculated against smallpox after the epidemic of 1767. This changed the negative perception of inoculation among Austrian physicians. Maria Theresa also held a dinner in her palace for the first 65 children who had been inoculated in Austria.

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J1Lbm TIL that the longest chess game in history took over 20 hours to complete and ended in a draw.
61Ml TIL a Japanese translator was stabbed to death because he translated “The Satanic Verses”, a novel by Salman Rushdie.
lxyN TIL Blackbeard fell in a sneak attack by the Royal Navy. With only 19 crew members, he devastated one ship, boarded the other, and disarmed the Captain sent to hunt him. He was mid-killstroke when he had his throat slashed. Examination of his body revealed 5 gunshot wounds and over 20 sword wounds.
LjK0 TIL that dogs have only recently been able to watch TV, with the advent of HDTV with their higher framerates. Before that, with CRT’s, it was like watching a strobe light.
1O14 TIL a whale known as “the world’s loneliest whale” is the only one known to produce “songs” at 52Hz. Although the sonic signature is that of a whale, the frequency is unique in no other whale uses it to answer back. His songs were first detected in 1992. A 50-day search for him will start this Fall.