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TIL Rhode Island was incorporated as The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations when it declared statehood in 1790.

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bXr4 TIL in 1960, Singapore’s birth rate was 5.4, so the government introduced a policy to stop parents from having more than 2 kids. The fertility rate dropped to 1.44, below replacement rates so the government reversed its policy. The fertility rate has never restored back to replacement levels since
6EoD7 TIL ESPN 8: the Ocho is real now
x61Wb TIL I learned that a cornerstone of the Robert E. Lee Memorial on Monument Avenue in Richmond included a time capsule containing, among other seemingly innocuous items, a picture of Lincoln lying in his coffin.
kyRE TIL in 1958, the Chinese captured a US Sidewinder missile just four days after it was introduced into combat when it got stuck in a Chinese jet during a dogfight with Taiwan aircraft. It was reverse-engineered into the Soviet AA-2 Atoll (K-13) missile and used against US planes in Vietnam.
e0vV6 TIL Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Sonata was first written for George Bridgetower. Following a successful premiere, it was rededicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer after George said something insulting to Beethoven. Kreutzer never played it because it was too hard, saying Beethoven didn't understand the violin