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TIL the "ampersand" character is intended to depict the two characters of the Latin word "et", meaning "and", that it was once considered the 27th letter of the alphabet, and that it's name comes from the phrase "and per se and".

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dBvB TIL in 1994, flying home from the U.S., Russian President Boris Yeltsin was scheduled to stop over in Ireland and meet the Taoiseach (prime minister). Yeltsin overslept, so his men claimed he was too unwell to leave the plane and they flew on to Moscow, leaving the Taoiseach standing on the tarmac.
WkrRA TIL James Corden starred in a UK television commercial for Tango soft drinks that was banned
9YOQr TIL that Plymouth, the capital of the island country Montserrat, has 0 inhabitants. It was built near a volcano which erupted in 1997, substantially burning the town and burying it in ashes. The town was evacuated, but remains the de jure capital, making it the ony ghost-town capital in the world.
DkMj TIL Classical marble statues used to be painted in color; although they have faded to blank whiteness, we can use UV light to see the original textures
7mr TIL on July 4, 1054, A supernova was seen by Chinese, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.