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TIL about the Canadian Rangers, a 5,000 strong wing of the Canadian military reserves made up mostly of First Nation personnel. They provide a military presence in the most remote Canadian regions, act as guides and scouts for the Army, and until 2018 were still issued WWII vintage rifles.

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bE0Q TIL Aborigines were chained by the neck and force fed salt to help explorers find waterholes in arid Western Australia
neAmB TIL that Six Flags New Orleans was permanently closed after damage from hurricane Katrina. Despite several proposals to redevelop it, it’s still sitting there in a state of decay.
9wwNQ TIL about General Santa Anna’s wooden leg. The leg was captured by an Illinois regiment in 1847 and is now on display at the Illinois State Military Museum.
Xwoj TIL the British East India Company arrested hundreds of local weavers and had their thumbs chopped off in order to destroy Begal’s weaving industry in 1834.
4k88J TIL that purple became associated with royalty due to a shade of it named Tyrian purple, which was created using the mucous glands of Murex snails. Even though it smelled horrible, this pigment was treasured in ancient times as a dye because its intensity deepened with time instead of fading away.