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TIL the star Mira has a surface that pulsates in such a way as to increase and decrease its brightness over periods ranging from about 80 to more than 1,000 days. This means sometimes the star is incredibly dim, while other times it is one of the brightest stars in its constellation.

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R5nOl TIL Haiti's only king, Henri Christophe, was born into slavery. Christophe had fought in the revolution and established a kingdom in Haiti in 1811. Ultimately Christophe established an unpopular system of taxation by forced labor and his reign ended in suicide in 1820.
rRoPy TIL a one word article was the shortest ever published in the New York Times. The title: “When I’m Mistakenly Put on an Email Chain, Should I Hit ‘Reply All’ Asking to Be Removed?” The entire article: "No."
VMNm8 TIL within one year a single acre of maggots can produce more protein than 3,000 acres of cattle or 130 acres of soybeans. That's equal to 130,000 pounds of protein per year and greater than the per-acre protein yield of cattle (about 40 pounds), soybeans (950 pounds) or chickens (1,800 pounds)
N706M TIL in the shanty "Drunken Sailer," one response to "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" is "Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter." The Captain's Daughter is another name for the Cat o' Nine Tails, a multi-tailed whip.
Y7oW TIL that in 1998, 4% of the 225 richest men’s wealth could provide for entire globe: basic education, basic health care, adequate food, clean water and safe sewers. [NY Times original source]