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TIL the concept of sister cities originated in WW2 as a way of establishing solidarity between allied cities that had been devastated by fighting and air raids. The first 'twinned' cities were Coventry, England and Stalingrad in the Soviet Union in 1942 as both were extensively destroyed in the war

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J1jl1 TIL in 2018, a middle school in Dallas organized an event called “Breakfast with Dads,” but saw that not all of the students have fathers or father figures to attend the event with. So, they put up a post on Facebook seeking around 50 volunteers. On the day of the event, 600 men showed up to help.
ne00B TIL about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was kept captive for 19 yrs by her mother, Dee Dee, who faked medical conditions that her daughter had in order for her to be seen as a caregiver. Dee Dee is a classic Munchausen syndrome by proxy. After Gypsy had Dee Dee killed, she was sentenced 10yrs in prison
DQQlv TIL that the wreck of the Dutch East India Company ship Batavia lead to a 30-day voyage to find fresh water, a massacre, executions, and multiple battles over a makeshift limestone fort.
DAyv TIL Michael the gorilla was taught sign language by Koko, the first signing gorilla. He began signing “Squash meat gorilla. Mouth tooth. Cry sharp-noise loud. Bad think-trouble look-face. Cut/neck lip (girl) hole.” Researchers believed this was a description of the poaching death of his mother.
4XK9J TIL in 2008 the council of the British city of Birmingham printed 360,000 leaflets that featured an image of the skyline of Birmingham, Alabama. The council then said that it was meant to be a "generic skyline picture".