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TIL about Loreta Janeta Velasquez who was a woman that disguised herself as a man and fought alongside her husband in the Civil War.

Read more wams.nyhistory.org

via reddit.com

Qk5k TIL that many years ago a Sultan decreed that the cats in Istanbul were to be protected because they ate rats and mice. The people were to feed them and not harm them. And even to this day, the people still obey the Sultan’s order. This is why Istanbul is called the cat capital of Europe.
RWK6 TIL an obsessed fan mailed Bjork a letter bomb containing sulfuric acid with the intention of being “The one person who changed her life the most”. He painted his body and committed suicide on camera, and his 18 hour video journal of this is available on YouTube.
wlRY TIL the Turkish national sport is oil wrestling where men douse themselves in olive oil and then wrestle.
WOmB TIL before World War II it was very rare for white couples to adopt a child of a different race, especially African American babies. Operation “Brown Baby” was started by the Boys and Girls Aid Society and tried placing children in homes irrespective of racial homogeneity.
0dNrA TIL that the United States severed direct diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1867 in the wake of rumors of Catholic implication in the Lincoln assassination. Direct relations were reestablished in 1984.