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TIL Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates at 22. During his capture he demanded the kidnappers more than double his ransom. Once released, he captured the pirates and had them imprisoned and crucified as he had promised to them during his captivity.

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x6O4k TIL that during World War II, a hippo named Belle survived the Siege of Leningrad thanks to her caretaker, Yevdokia Dashina. With the city’s water cut off, Belle’s pool dried up, and Dashina carried 40 liters of water daily from the Neva River to keep the hippo alive.
Rln4 TIL Kanye West’s brand has a plain white t-shirt going for $120, and it’s sold out
OG5M7 TIL of the Angola, LA Prison Rodeo where untrained prisoners ride bulls and play "convict poker"
7ngZ TIL That though the brain may only consist of 2% of our entire body mass, it consumes a fifth of a persons metabolic energy.
b9Jwa TIL Wheeling Gaunt, a slave who bought his and his family's freedom in 1845 before moving to Yellow Springs, OH. At the time of his death, he bequeathed a large portion of his land and estate to the village under the condition that each widow be given flour annually, which continues to this day