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TIL that when the British invaded Washington in 1814, they held a mock session of congress. They voted whether or not they should burn the city to the ground, soldiers unanimously agreed in favor of the motion.

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DQB4V TIL that many animals spend much of their time doing nothing, even those we think of as particularly busy. "If you look at a colony of ants, or bees, or any social insect really, maybe a little bit less than half of them are just standing around doing what looks like nothing."
16J64 TIL that when creating Finding Nemo, Pixar decided to show off the ocean they had created by pitting it against live-action footage of a real ocean. It was so realistic that nobody could tell the difference, so they made the ocean a more cartoonish blue to blend in with the animated fish.
9jPB TIL the term “Hippie” is derived from the term “Hipster,” which described jazz fans in the 1940’s. Hipsters were known for pot smoking and sarcasm.
e000b TIL that in July 2014 a German tourist got into a fight while in Bulgaria. Following advise not to fly he said goodbye to his friends and booked a hotel. A day later he started acting strangely and was last seen running out of Varna airport and climbing a fence, his whereabouts are still unknown.
wLPRE TIL the Tennessee Aquarium in the United States is home to an electric eel. Named Miguel Wattson, the eel's exhibit is wired to a small computer that sends out a prewritten tweet when it emits electricity at a high enough threshold.