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TIL that during the War of 1812, Britain occupied and intended to annex the modern American state of Maine, even setting up a government for the “Crown Colony of New Ireland”, which collected £10,000 in tax revenues by war’s end

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oBlLE TIL less than 7 percent of people have a negative blood type
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Rmxl TIL that England, France, and Scotland all used to assess a ‘window tax’. Tax assessors would count the number of windows on a home or apartment and charge for every window on the assumption that the more windows you had, the bigger your home, and the more money you could afford to pay.
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JYx1Q TIL that English Parliament was conducted entirely in French until the 1400s. Even today, bills are formally passed into law with a French phrase: "Le Reyne le veult", meaning "The queen wills it."