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TIL of Bobby Sands. A member of the IRA, Sands was elected to Parliament in 1981 while serving a 14 year prison sentence after bombing a furniture company. Before serving in Parliament, however, he starved to death due to a hunger strike he organized.

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DQxxV TIL Switzerland has a merchant marine force. Switzerland is connected to the ocean via the Rhine and as of 2010 there are 37 ships flying the Swiss Flag.
4k0LJ TIL there is a Catholic saint named Lucifer. Lucifer of Cagliari is revered as a saint on the island of Sardinia
0drvy TIL U.S. citizens who have never resided in the U.S. and have a parent or legal guardian that was last domiciled in one of 12 States (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wyoming) are not eligible to vote.
ANG67 TIL that a “Jiffy” is a real unit of time. Defined by Gilbert Lewis in 1926 as the time it takes light to travel 1cm (~33.3564 picoseconds), it has since been redefined in astrophysics & quantum physics by Edward Harrison as the time it takes for light to travel 1 fermi (or, 10^-15m: ~3×10^-24sec):
0wpdM TIL in the 1940s the musicians of America went on strike against major recording companies. Eventually, the major labels ran out of back catalogue to release and settled with the musicians, but the years without royalties effectively ended the big band era.