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TIL Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi died eating mercury pills that were supposed to prolong his life. Afraid that news of his death would cause a revolt, his trusted advisors transported his body back to his palace among barrels of rotten fish, to mask the smell.

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xVGDk TIL after learning of Napoleon escape from Elba Four Great Powers declared Napoleon an outlaw and declared war not on France but to Napoleon personally
QJWDL TIL A Catholic Priest, Georges Lemaître, was first to propose what became known as the Big Bang theory. The origin of the universe, which he called his "hypothesis of the primeval atom" or the "Cosmic Egg." And was first to derive what is now known as Hubble's law.
mGav TIL in 1994, IBM released a cell phone with touch screen and e-mail. It could also send and receive faxes, work as a pager, and was considered the world’s first smart phone due to its features and capabilities.
d8On9 TIL that in 427BC Athens sent a ship to Mytilene which had instructions to kill all adult men in the city-state. The next day, Athenians voted to change their decision - a second ship was dispatched. Racing through the night, it reached Mytilene just in time to prevent the massacre from happening.
dDA8d TIL of Molly and Clay Daniels, a couple who committed insurance fraud. They dug up a corpse, burned it in a car, and pretended it was the husband that died. They then went around introducing Clay as Molly's "new" boyfriend to everyone, including their own kids.