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TIL According to legend, in 1845, Ottoman Sultan declared his intention to send £10,000 to victims of the Irish potato famine, but was instructed to send only £1,000, so as not to donate more than Queen Victoria, who had sent £2,000. He sent £1,000 along with three or five ships full of food.

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5QDn TIL The Anti-Defamation League in the US was busted for spying on US citizens (and others) in support of the South-African apartheid regime and Israel.
gXxD TIL that Brazil has twice authorized illegal, local production of patented HIV/AIDS drugs in order to save the lives of its people.
Wk8W8 TIL: The north american division of the Dutch Rabobank paid $360M in fines and pleads guilty to laundering money for mexican cartels.
jNnn TIL that when Alfred Hitchcock was a boy his father sent him to the police with a letter. When the Sherrif read the letter he put young Alfred in jail for ten minutes. When he released him he said" this is what happens to bad people.“ From then on Hitchcock was afraid of cops and would never drive.
vP0Lj TIL in 1647, the British Parliament banned Christmas in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. Christmas was rebelliously celebrated with men carrying spikes clubs patrolling the streets making sure shops stayed closed and riots in Norwich killing 40 people, resulting in the Second Civil War