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TIL: Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, who is often portrayed as the epitome of Mexican machismo, never drank alcohol. He actually was so worried about alcoholism spreading in Mexico, that he banned alcohol from his province of Chihuahua.

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ANROB TIL dolphins use “names." Young dolphins, within the first few months of life, display their creativity by creating a unique sound. These bleats, chirps and squeaks amount to a novel possession in the animal kingdom, a label that conveys an identity, comparable to a human name.
n5XW TIL Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish war hero who helped win the American Revolutionary War, left his property in the USA to be sold to educate and free Thomas Jefferson’s and other slaves. As executor, Jefferson never acted on the will and no slaves were freed.
4XE9J TIL Tomatoes were commonly believed to be poisonous until 1820 when a man in Salem, New Jersey ate a horde of tomatoes in front of a court house in order to disprove the myth. A crowd watched the event waiting for him to die. He didn't.
GEv7 TIL the Parthenon is in such bad condition because occupying Turkish forces used it as a powder magazine which exploded when hit by a Venetian shell in 1687.
DP7j TIL the US gas guzzler tax that was designed to discourage fuel-inefficient vehicles only applies to cars, but not SUVs, trucks, and vans, since they were rarely used as passenger cars when the law was passed in 1978. The law has since not been updated to reflect modern times.