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TIL the Amtrak Cardinal got its name because it runs through six states that all have the cardinal as their state bird

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OolA7 TIL of "A Village Fair with a Church Behind": a 1643 painting by Isack van Ostade owned by Queen Elizabeth II. When conservators cleaned the painting, they discovered that a bush in the foreground had been painted over the original around 1903; they removed the bush which revealed a pooping man.
NQbb TIL the largest diamond discovered in the world, the Cullinan was shipped from South Africa to England in a postal box while a replica was shipped on a steamer to create diversion
oVj7 TIL during the Cold War the RCMP developed and used a “fruit machine” which measured pupil dilation in relation to pics of men and women to determine whether someone was gay.
GOeJ TIL: In Spanish, “esposas” means both “handcuffs” and “wives” and it is not a coincidence
VMoGD TIL that in the year 1909, the British Intelligence Agency MI6 was formed but it was kept such a secret that it wasn't formally acknowledged until the year 1994.