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TIL in 1851, a runaway slave named Jerry was arrested in Syracuse NY during the anti-slavery Liberty Party’s convention. A crowd of hundreds of abolitionists broke into the city jail and freed Jerry, eventually smuggling him to Canada. Nine participants in the rescue also fled to avoid prosecution.

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B51W TIL Xylitol, a product that is harmless to humans but toxic to dogs, is found in some peanut butter brands.
m7QM TIL that East Germany created its own cola drink. Vita-Cola’s sales almost disappeared after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought Coke and Pepsi into the East. It is still the most popular cola in Thuringia, making the German state one of the few places in the world where Coca-Cola is not the leader.
JYZXB TIL about the door-in-the-face. An attempt is made to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down. The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, than if that same request is made in isolation.
eLEL TIL Canada’s housing act once declared “Housing is not simply an economic commodity that can be bought and sold according to the vagaries of the market, but a social right”
gyJy TIL that a day before 9/11, George Carlin recorded a live show for a album that was titled ‘I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die" which was shelved due to the events of the next day. The title was later planned to be re-used for a special in 2004, but was again discarded due to Hurricane Katrina.