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TIL of Walt Whitman's friend, Silas Soule. At 17, he was escorting slaves on the Underground Railroad. By 22, he'd staged two prison heists & become a blacksmith. At 26, he defied orders to participate in a massacre of Native Americans, testified against its architect, and was murdered for it.

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VMAj8 TIL In 2011 Samoa skipped from being the last to first country to see the sun each day. So now they celebrate New year's first. They did it to be more inline with NZ & Australia for commercial reasons
JYXx8 TIL the world's longest burning fire is 6000 years old
ne6lB TIL High heels were originally worn by men. Wealthy 17th-century men in Europe wore them to imply their upper-class status; only someone who did not have to work could afford, both financially and practically, to wear such extravagant shoes.
v185r TIL that The Tornados' 1966 "Do You Come Here Often" is considered UK's first major label release of a gay themed pop song. The instrumental tune featured overdubbed flirty same-sex banter, at a time when violation of sodomy laws was punishable with prison time.
dXZj TIL in 2013, Mattel will produce a Barbie that is bald in support of children who have cancer and lose their hair in treatment.