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TIL that the US wouldn’t agree to the 1954 Geneva Accords that would allow Vietnam to hold elections and vote for their own leaders. This refusal was a starting point for the Vietnam War.

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wL9A8 TIL that 6.8T of steel used to build the USS New York was salvaged from the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11
JY8o1 TIL that Photorhabdus luminescens, a bioluminescent bacterium, reportedly infected the wounds of some American Civil War soldiers. This both caused the wounds to glow and helped the soldiers to survive due to antibiotics made by the bacterium. This phenomenon was named "Angel's Glow".
d80m9 TIL that during a negotiation with Portuagal in 1617, future Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba was not offered a chair, instead being offered a mat. This was an attempt to disrespect her, so she ordered her servant to get on the ground and then sat on her back during the negotiations.
r0pM TIL that Salvador Dali created a painting called “Hitler Masturbating”. Nothing figurative about that title.
W7xLo TIL, that in the US military, goats are commonly used to train combat medics. Goats have become the main animal species used for this purpose after the Pentagon phased out using dogs for medical training in the 1980s.