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TIL a Dutch warship was disguised as a tropical island to escape detection by the Japanese in WWII. It was the only ship of its class to survive.

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NJA1 TIL The concept of using a card for purchases was described in 1887 by Edward Bellamy in his utopian novel Looking Backward. Bellamy used the term credit card eleven times in this novel, although this referred to a card for spending a citizen’s dividend from the government, rather than borrowing.
QJVVX TIL The oldest UK law dates back to 1267 AD (The Statute of Marlborough)
VxlB TIL King Henry VIII was once arrested and then imprisoned for assaulting a police constable with his walking stick. When the police constable was informed he had jailed the King of England, he feared execution; instead he was commended by Henry VIII for his dedication to duty.
kO0em TIL that the Chinese equivalent of "when pigs fly" is "when the sun rises in the West." Other variants include "when the crayfish whistles" (Russian), "when the crow turns white" (Tagalog), "when the fish climbs the poplar" (Turkish), and "when it snows red snowflakes" (Hungarian).
rA5e TIL The aerodynamics (downforce) of an F1 car is so powerful it could drive on an inverted road (upside-down) if it was going only 170kmh or 105mph!