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TIL a week before the Iraq War began, Tim Russert reported “every analysis said this war itself would cost about $80 billion […] We should expect that this would cost at least $100 billion for a two-year involvement.” Brown University’s final tally was $3.2-4 trillion, or about 3500% more.

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rR6mW TIL that Seneca Village, a community composed mainly of free black people, was destroyed in the 1850s to make way for New York City's Central Park
E1bwo TIL that the Groom of the Stool (person in charge of helping the English monarch poop) was a coveted position of power and influence due to the close, intimate access to the King/Queen.
OoMLY TIL in 1891 Chicago issued a challenge to all engineers to build a structure that would surpass The Eiffel Tower. The engineer who won proposed a giant rotating wheel that will lift visitors high above the city. The inventor of this giant wheel's name was George Ferris.
JYg4Q TIL that despite having a heart condition and arthritis that forced him to use a cane, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. led the first wave of landings at Utah Beach on D-Day, becoming the only general to land with his soldiers that day.
GYWDg TIL that formed FBI director Louis Freeh once said, “Ask the American public if they want an FBI wiretap and they’ll say, ‘No’. If you ask them do they want a feature on their phone that helps the FBI find their missing child they’ll say, ‘Yes’.”