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TIL The Scarlet Pimpernel is the first character to have a secret identity, being first published in 1905. Everyone believes Sir Percy Blakeney is a wealthy fop, but in reality he is a daring adventurer who saving people from execution during the Terror of the French Revolution.

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9wN4r TIL The Nagant M1895 is one of the few revolvers that can successfully use a silencer. This is possible because the ammunition's casing extends over the projectile and the cylinder slides forward when cocked. When fired these elements create a gas seal that prevents gas from venting out the sides.
1aJpV TIL of Ronald Alexander, who appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to accept a $500,000 donation from Lowes for his crumbling elementary school in Detroit. Months later he and 12 other principals were convicted of taking $900,000 in bribes from a school supply scam.
JAY1 TIL The biggest medieval codex ever discovered is a collection of manuscripts commonly referred to as the Devil’s Bible; the ‘Codex Gigas’ weighs about 165lbs (roughly 75kg) and is said to be a product of a desperate monk’s deal with Lucifer himself.
nWVkW TIL that the Japanese calendar is divided into 72 seasons instead of the traditional 4, based on such nuances of weather and nature such as "bamboo shoots sprouting", "wheat ripening" and "Swallows return".
69l68 TIL about semantic and episodic memory. Semantic memory refers to general knowledge while episodic memory refers to past events and experiences. That is why you can remember what keys are and how they operate (semantic), but not where you put them (episodic).