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Til Before Serena Williams, there was Althea Gibson – the first African American to compete at US National Championships and the first to be ranked No.1 in the world. She achieved this during a time when American sports is still very segregated.

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QJ9DX TIL that the variant of the word okay - “OK” - is derivative from Martin van Buren’s nickname “Old Kinderhook” and was popularised by his rallies for the 1836 US election
v1Ax4 TIL astronomer Harlow Shapley firmly believed that there was only one galaxy in the universe but when he was presented with an evidence that disproved his view, he said "it destroyed his universe." Then he completely changed his view and devoted his subsequent career in mapping 76,000 galaxies.
jNZmN TIL when pirate Jean Lafitte learned that a $500 bounty had been placed on his head by the Governor of Louisiana, he responded by placing a $5000 bounty on the Governor's head.
YRYv TIL that when Pope John Paul II visited Chile, he asked a crowd of tens of thousands to refuse greed and consumerism –to which they replied «yes», to reject the idol of power, «yes», but when he asked them to reject the idol of «sex and pleasure», the whole stadium replied an outright «NO!»
JNjB TIL The King of Jordan, King Abdullah II, appeared as an extra on an episode of Star Trek and is currently building a Star Trek themed amusement park in Jordan.