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TIL Despite Napoleon divorcing her so he could have an heir, his first wife Josephine is the ancestor of 5 of the current royal houses of Europe. Napoleon is the ancestor of none.

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DQYap TIL A slave couple escaped to the North in 1848 by disguising her, a light-skinned black woman, as his owner, and him, darker-skinned, as her valet. She was illiterate at the time, so they put her arm in a sling against signatures and pretended she was sick. An acquaintance nearly recognized them.
9YaDG TIL that Albert I of Belgium is called the "Knight King" because he personally led his army in combat for all of WWI; also his wife, Elizabeth of Bavaria, served as a nurse in front-line field hospitals.
0weK5 TIL Barnum's American Museum had crowds that would linger inside too long. To make way for new paying guests, signs saying "This Way to the Egress" were put up. Not knowing Egress was another word for Exit, people followed the signs to what they assumed was a fascinating exhibit but ended up outside
ep6bD TIL on January 31, 1977 Evel Knievel jumped a tank full of sharks; Fonzie didn't jump the shark until September of the same year
WkQBN TIL That the reason beans actually give you gas is because of a sugar found in beans called oligosaccharide that the body cannot fully break down. When these sugars move into the small intestine, they produce excess gas.