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TIL that Mark Twain authored a revised version of The Battle Hymn of the Republic in response to the US Imperialism and the Philippine-American War in 1900. Lines include "Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword" and "As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich"

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9wkDr TIL: The top (summit) of Mt Everest is grey limestone, complete with embedded marine invertebrate fossils (e.g. trilobites). This means that the rock that makes up the top Mt Everest was once underwater.
KYDpR TIL about Elephant walks - a term used by the US Air Force to describe close formation taxiing of a large number of military aircraft prior to taking off. These exercises serve a practical use - preparing aircrews for conflict operations that require mass take-offs but also serve as a show of force
Wk7E4 TIL that in 1935 the mayor of New York City banned the sale of artichokes after the mob took control of the industry during the "Artichoke Wars"
nrdB TIL A budgie named Puck is listed in the Guinness World Book of Records as “The bird with the largest vocabulary in the world ” with a vocabulary of 1728 words. Also he wouldn’t just mimic, he would often create his own phrases and sentences.
my0E TIL the country “Turkey” is called totally different names in some other languages. In Nordic countries its name translates to “Chicken,” most African countries know it as “Ostrich” and East Asian countries know it as “Pheasant”