› added 4 years ago

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TIL that in the Antebellum South, slaves dreaded January 1 -- A.K.A. "Heartbreak Day" -- because New Year's Day was traditionally when debts were settled, resulting in black families being torn apart as slave owners sold or rented slaves out long-term to pay back those they owed money to.

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78MKp TIL that during World War II, a Great Dane named Juliana was awarded two Blue Cross medals for extinguishing an incendiary bomb by urinating on it.
rReLe TIL "PNG" is always pronounced "ping" in English, not "pinj" or "pee en gee" or any other multi-syllabic disaster.
v1LJx TIL in 1862, Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendered to US General Ulysses Grant and in 1944, his son, Lt General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., died at the Battle of Okinawa.
8epAb TIL: Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, because of an insulting comment by one of its emirs.
yVO4p TIL that in ancient times, the carob seed was used to measure the worth of gems and gold since the seeds have a general uniform weight. This is where the word "karat" comes from.