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TIL that until 1970, Royal Navy sailors were given daily rum rations - a tradition dating back to the 17th century to make life at sea bearable. On the final day before it was abolished, many unhappy sailors held mock funeral processions, drank their final rations and threw the rest overboard.

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ngW7 TIL the black edges on traditional black forest ham are caused by the ham being dipped in cow blood prior to cooking
NVeP TIL a black slave called Yasuke was made a samurai by Oda Nobunaga, and was said to have strength greater than 10 men.
4ba TIL there is no such thing as canola, and the name canola comes from Canadian Oil Low Acid.
ar10 TIL 91% of Americans watched the OJ Simpson trial verdict. It was the most unproductive half hour in American history and cost the US economy $480 million.
kJ7QE TIL that a novel helped fix the author's relationship with his father. Donald Conroy was a USMC pilot who violently abused his children, including author Pat Conroy. Pat fictionalized his father as "The Great Santini" in a novel. Reading about himself caused Donald to admit his flaws to his family.