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TIL JRR Tolkien was a supporter of the constructed language Esperanto, believing it could help unite Europe after World War I. He also created new languages like Elvish, calling it his "secret vice", and explained that for him the purpose was aesthetic rather than pragmatic

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loY6N TIL That the most western battle fought in the American Civil War took place at Picacho Pass Arizona (50 miles NW of Tuscon).
bda4 TIL: A company in Hong Kong once attempted to release a version of Tamagotchi where you would take care of gang member, instead of feeding and playing with him, you’d make him smoke, drink alcohol, and enter knife fights.
xVebw TIL "Motivated Reasoning" is why you can't change someone's mind on the Internet. Techniques include identity-protective cognition (being dismissive of uncomfortable ideas) biased assimilation (only remembering supporting ideas) and biased information search (staying in a bubble).
0dXXL TIL of William Walker, an American physician, lawyer, journalist, mercenary, slavery supporter, and Southern folk hero from from Tennessee. Walker seized control of Nicaragua from 1856 to 1857, and convinced many U.S. Southerners of the desirability of creating a Confederate empire in Latin America.
Br6Yx TIL - Many people have Neanderthal genes in their DNA that predispose them to allergies, including pollen and animal hair