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TIL that in 1869, Republican President Ulysses S. Grant tried to annex the Dominican Republic to use it as a safe haven for blacks fleeing persecution. Although the D.R. agreed to the annexation treaty, it ultimately failed to pass the Senate.

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X049r TIL that the colony of Eider Ducks on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, England were the subject of one of the first ever bird protection laws, established by Saint Cuthbert in the year 676.
BvKx TIL during WW2, German soldiers disguised themselves as Americans in order to cause confusion among Allied troops. The paranoia was so great that at one point British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery had the tires of his car shot out, was dragged out of the car, and was detained in a barn for hours.
OPQ7 TIL that British soldiers ate the hallucinogenic Jimson weed during Bacon’s Rebellion, they spent eleven days in altered mental states.
W0n8 TIL that while Saudi Arabia abolished slavery in 1962, Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan publicly endorse the practice in 2003, stating “Slavery is a part of Islam” and whoever wants it abolished is “an infidel.”
dwkB TIL Stephen Fry was expelled from two schools and went to prison for credit card fraud