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98

TIL The Paraguayan Fortress of Humaitá was known as the Gibraltar of South America. The security of the fortress likely caused overconfidence in President Francisco Solano López, who launched the Paraguayan War, which he lost, 150,000 Paraguayans died, and Humaitá was razed by the Triple Alliance.

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yVyRM TIL that Anne Ramsey, best known for her role in Throw Mama From The Train (1987), her slurred speech was due to operations for her throat cancer and was in pain during the whole production. She was nominated for an Oscar. Sadly she died of her throat cancer 6 months after the ceremony.
n8No TIL that in the UK, people with last names descended from Norman Conquerors(Percy, Darcy, Baskerville) are more likely to be wealthy, have better social standing and over-represented in top universities.
Meokb TIL that in its early days, football was primarily played in colleges and was extremely violent due to the rugby style nature of the rules. It was so violent that in 1905 alone, there were 19 fatalities that US President Teddy Roosevelt threatened to shut down the sport unless changes were made.
oRNy8 TIL During World War I, the Germans bombed New York City by setting off explosives at an munitions plant killing 3 people and permanently damaging the torch on the Statue of Liberty. It helped draw the USA into World War I similar to the Pearl Harbor attack during World War II.
Y1Vd TIL that most mermaid “sightings” were most likely manatees, dugongs, or Steller’s sea cows. In fact, Christopher Columbus spotted 3 manatees near the Dominican Republic and would later write that mermaids are “not half as beautiful as they are painted.”