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TIL that Edgar Allan Poe invented the first fictional detective and directly influenced Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, who made his first appearance 45 years after Poe's death.

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nKN9 TIL That Hazel Ying Lee, a Chinese-American WWII pilot, had two forced landings. One landing took place in a Kansas wheat field. A farmer, pitchfork in hand, chased her around the plane while shouting to his neighbors that the Japanese had invaded Kansas.
XdBj TIL Vermont was an independent country for 14 years. A popular poem from Vermont at the time read “Come York or come Hampshire, come traitors or knaves, If ye rule o'er our land ye shall rule o'er our graves; Our vow is recorded—our banner unfurled, In the name of Vermont we defy all the world!”
JYwX8 TIL “money laundering" originated with the Italian mafia and criminals such as Al Capone, who purchased 'Laundromats' to mix their illegal profits from prostitution and bootlegged liquor sales with legitimate business sales from the 'Laundromats' to conceal their illegal profit.
DYlP TIL the word “oxymoron” is an oxymoron. The Greek word “oxy” means “sharp” and “moron” means “dull”.
nWaw7 TIL: In 1919, more than a decade before Nazi Germany adopted their policy against Jewish citizens, Britain introduced the 'Kipande System' in Kenya which required all native Kenyans wear a small red book around their neck as identification which contained their fingerprints and work qualifications.