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TIL 10-18 million Africans were taken by Arab slavers. This is more than the 12 million Africans shipped in the Atlantic slave trade, and 16-30 times more than the 600,000 slaves imported to America since 1620, which is less than the more than 1 million whites enslaved by Ottoman vassals.

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e0nv6 TIL Mussolini drastically altered the area surrounding the Colosseum, leveling hills and removing ruins, including the base of the Colossus of Nero.
dl8E TIL Joe Castiglione, Red Sox radio broadcaster, told Daniel Nava to swing as hard as he could on the first pitch before the game because “that’s the only first pitch in the majors you’ll ever see,”. Nava is only the fourth player to have hit a grand slam in his first at-bat.
DyBP TIL William Kamkwamba built a windmill from gum trees, bicycle parts, and scrap finds, to power his family’s farm. Though he didn’t know English, he learned to built the windmill from English books and diagrams. Later, he dug a well and built an irrigation system, which helped grow crops more often.
8aa4 TIL high heels were originally worn by men in the Near East because it helped to keep their feet in a horse’s stirrups
VMlOp TIL about the Italian Unabomber, who placed tiny explosive devices inside everyday objects, including tomato sauce, a Nutella jar, and an egg, in public spaces in parts of Italy. Numerous people, including children, lost fingers and limbs. The bomber operated from 1994 to 2006 and remains unknown.