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TIL that Abraham Lincoln was so convinced that he was going to lose the election of 1864 that he asked Frederick Douglass to lead scouts into the South to free as many slaves as possible before the new president took office.

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via reddit.com

x67MD TIL about the Amami rabbit, native to Amami Ōshima and reminiscent of ancient rabbits, which exclusively inhabits two small islands in Japan.
nW5Mr TIL that the planet's average temperature compared to today was just 6°C (43°F) lower, during the last ice age, and 4°C (39°F) higher, during the age of the dinosaurs. "In climate terms, a change of just a few degrees is a big deal." (Bill Gates, 2021)
v1Q1B TIL The idea of “common sense” comes from the Ancient Greek concept of Nous, the “common sense” humans were believed to have to recognize truth that was distinct from rationality
ppVA TIL that O. J. Simpson filmed a TV pilot just before being accused of murdering his wife and her friend in 1994. In ‘Frogmen’ Simpson holds a knife to the throat of a woman and reportedly received military training on how to use it, but the prosecution did not use the film during the trial.
VbgQ TIL that rubber, despite its many uses now, was called “rubber” because it rubs out pencil marks.