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TIL in February 1864 over 100 union prisoners of escaped Libby Prison in Virginia. Making it one of the most successful prison breaks of the civil war.

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QNXZd TIL after noticing a decline in the Christmas Island pipistrelle, permission was given by the Australian govt. to capture and breed wild specimens. In Aug 2009, scientists only found one instance of the bat through echolocation after four weeks. It later went silent that same month.
W7Q78 Til of E Henry Knoche, A former star college tennis and basketball athlete, he asked for a job with the CIA with no qualifications other than his trophies, 2 years with the navy during WW2 and speaking Russian and an obscure Chinese dialect. When he retired in 1977 he was acting director of the CIA
6EenY TIL about Bill Baxley, elected Atty. Gen. of Alabama at 29 yrs old in 1970. He reopened the 16th St. Church Bombing case and received a threatening letter from Edward R. Fields, Grand Dragon of the KKK. Baxley’s reply was short & sweet: “My response to your letter of Feb. 19, 1976 is - kiss my ass.”
xVbXk TIL in Texas a jury can give the final sentence for murder instead of a judge. As a result, Texas has "misdemeanor murders" where a convicted murderer gets a light sentence like probation because the defense convinced the jury that the victim deserved it.
eKyD TIL: The quintessentially 40’s-mid 60’s American futuristic Jetsonesque architecture (think Back To The Future, bowling alleys, diners etc) which includes monuments such as the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign and the Seattle “Space Needle” is known as “Googie”