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TIL on July 4th 1852, Frederick Douglass was asked to give a speech about Independence. He got real pissed, saying it was a sham, since slaves had no independence. "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."

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J1lG4 TIL about childlore which is the folk culture of children between the ages of about 6 and 15. As a branch of folklore it is concerned with activities learnt and passed on by children to other children.
1a5A4 TIL that there is an official world record for time traveling. It's held by cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who has spent 803 days total in orbit around Earth. According to Einstein's theories of relativity, this would mean Sergei effectively has travelled about 0.02 seconds forward in time.
WwLN TIL that during a Roman Triumph, which were rare, spectacular parades commemorating the honor awarded to a victorious Roman general by the Senate, a slave would have to accompany the honored while whispering “Remember: you will die” into their ear so that they may not let the honor go to their head.
v1JvD TIL that in feudal Japan, merchants were at/near the bottom of the social hierarchy because they didn't produce goods. Artisans were a step above them because they produced non-essential goods and peasants were above artisans because they produced food.
VB7Qm TIL of the 2013 Cannes heist, in which a solo thief managed to break into a poorly guarded room and snatched a suitcase containing 72 pieces of jewellry worth $136 million from a billionaire about to do a private exhibition of his jewel collection.