› added 6 years ago

77

TIL about Juneteenth: an American holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans throughout the former Confederate States of America.

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6EBml TIL that in the 1940s and 1950s, hundreds of thousands of members of the US armed forces were exposed to ionizing radiation from nuclear testing during active duty. These "atomic veterans" were sworn to secrecy, and many received no treatment or compensation for the illnesses they later developed.
OoDDg TIL The Queen of England's guard wear tall bear skin hats because at the Battle of Waterloo, English troops took them as a trophy from France. They were worn by Napoleon's elite guard, which England routed during the Battle.
Z8vrR TIL Steve-O had 5 ounces of Vodka giving to him by IV watched by a registered nurse. After the skit he went out to a bar to have even more drinks.
XL0R TIL that in World War II, German soldiers in American POW camps were sometimes allowed to leave without guards on the honor system, visiting nearby towns. Black American guards noted that German prisoners could visit segregated restaurants that they could not.
yQlbw TIL that the Treaty of Paris, the treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, refers to the island of Phelipeaux as a landmark for the American-Canadian border. The island Phelipeaux has never existed.