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TIL that Nazi general Erwin Rommel was allowed to take cyanide after being implicated in a plot to kill Hitler. To maintain morale, the Nazis gave him a state funeral and falsely claimed he died from war injuries.

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x6l4k TIL of the Sable Island Horse, a wild species found only on a low lying sandbar in the Atlantic off the cost of Nova Scotia. Released on Sable Island in the 1700s, they have become their own species over time. About 500 horses currently exist and are now legally protected by the Canadian government
VVd8 TIL that in 1990 the US Ambassador to Iraq was threatened with execution if he was harbouring Americans he responded with a press conference; where he wore a noose while declaring “If the choice is to allow American citizens to be taken hostage or to be executed, I will bring my own fucking rope"
69MXZ TIL that the IAU (International Astronomical Union) only recognizes 88 official constellations. Any pattern of stars that is not one of the 88 official constellations is called an asterism, with the most well-known ones being the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Orion's Belt, and the Summer Triangle.
6ERdw TIL of Carrie Nation, a radical member of the temperance movement, who would attack bars and saloons with a hatchet before prohibition came into effect.
woGn7 TIL The first song to use guitar distortion was Rocket 88 by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1951. Their amplifier had been damaged and they tried to fix it by stuffing it with newspaper, which gave it a distorted sound. The band were pleased with the sound and decided to keep it on the song.