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TIL of American mercenary William Walker. After failing to conquer parts of Mexico, he overthrew the Nicaraguan government in 1856 and ruled as its president for nearly a year, receiving recognition from President Franklin Pierce. He was overthrown, and executed after preparing for another invasion.

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OGgYX TIL that 160 years ago Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and many more members of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment were killed during the American Civil War, in an attack on confederate stronghold Fort Wagner. They were one of the first African American regiments in the war.
Z8Lx4 TIL: Solid blocks of gutta percha have been washing up on European beaches since 2012. The most likely source is from the Miyazaki Maru, a Japanese ocean liner that was sunk during WWI by the same U-boat captain who sunk the Lusitania.
AD5Kg TIL that the first pressing of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' was scented with patchouli to give it the essence of church incense.
QJbek TIL that in 2008 a conman named Bill Jakob swindled the small town of Gerald , Missouri & tricked the police department into thinking he was an FBI Agent and doing drug busts. After he was caught, the town was sued for $7.25M and Brad Pitt’s production company thought about making this into a movie
JEgB TIL smoking dead scorpions has become the latest drug craze in Pakistan and India, where it has been discovered to be an intoxicant.