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TIL President Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon named Rebecca. He got it as a gift in place of a turkey for Thanksgiving and Coolidge had no interest in eating it so he kept Rebecca as a pet and had a “White House Raccoon” tag made for her.

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pv0A TIL that there’s a bush which emits a flammable, oily substance which can be lit on fire, without burning the bush itself.
OGe61 TIL the average Saudi makes over 42 times the income of the average Yemeni - the biggest income difference between neighbors in the world (almost double the difference between South and North Korea).
wLxR7 TIL in 1985 the US tested a robotic anti-aircraft tank, the M247 Sergeant York. The tank malfunctioned and locked its guns onto a review stand packed with top generals. Mercifully it didn't fire, but did subsequently attack a portable toilet instead of a target drone.
b5Z9 TIL In response to artist Anish Kapoor buying the exclusive rights to Vantablack pigment, said to be the blackest shade of black, artist Stuart Semple created “the world’s pinkest pink”, and made it available to anyone except Kapoor; things then got messy.
WRJN TIL Einstein wanted to be cremated and his ashes scattered with his brain in his head to “discourage idolaters” but the Doctor performing the autopsy put the brain in formaldehyde and kept it for himself.