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TIL: Today in 1861, Sarah Seelye, at age 17, enlisted in the Civil War disguised as a man to escape an unwanted marriage. Ironically, part of her duties involved penetrating Confederate lines "disguised" as a woman. She deserted the army after contacting malaria and resumed life as a female in 1863.

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E1A10 TIL Gold's yellow color and inertness are explained by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Gold's electrons travel so close to the speed of light that relativity contracts some of their orbits. This shrinks an energy gap so it absorbs blue light, and makes the outer electron less reactive.
vP47D TIL: The oldest humanoid archeological find in Japan dates back over 22,000 years. It contained the fossils of 2 males and 3-7 females. It is believed that they were speared, cannibalized, and then thrown into the fissure. The males were 155cm tall while the females were 140cm.
QNPra TIL the design of the guillotine was intended to make capital punishment more reliable and less painful in accordance with new Enlightenment ideas of human rights.
p8enA TIL, Judy, a dog that spent a good part of world war II in a japanese prison camp protecting prisoners from being beaten - by taking the beating her self. Judy recieved the Dickin medal for her effort
Eg5yd TIL The railway bridge depicted in the film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” actually crossed the Mae Klong river. It was renamed the Kwai Noi by the Thai government after the success of the film in the 1960s.