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TIL that Galveston, Texas was ruled by French pirates between 1816 and 1821

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0oO5 TIL the shoshinsha mark is a green and yellow symbol that new Japanese drivers must place on their cars for a year; conversely, the fukushi mark (orange and yellow) is for elderly drivers. Both marks warn other drivers that the marked driver is not very skilled due to inexperience or old age.
W7Nao TIL the BBC Micro has a resistor to simulate a human holding their finger on the circuit board. The computer doesn't work without it, and we still don't know why today.
D1RYr TIL that during the Civil war, the basement of the Capitol building was converted into a bakery to feed the troops. There were about 20 ovens that produced 1000 loaves a day. Each ration included two slices of freshly baked bread, some meat and coffee or soup.
rjOx TIL in 2000 a Korean couple spent their life savings to bring a Pan Am 747 to Seoul and set it up as a restaurant. The restaurant failed, leaving the couple living in a hut below the airplane. The 747 was torn down for scrap metal in 2010.
OKy6 TIL inhabitants of North Sentinel Island have been there for 60,000ish years, remain completely untouched by modern civilization and kill outsiders who get too close.