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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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7ODM TIL 19th century biologist Sir John Lubbock experimented on ants by getting them drunk. He discovered that sober ants would carry their drunken ant comrades back to their nest, if they were from the same colony – but they would throw drunk strangers into the ditch.
negb9 TIL of 6 Psyche, one of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt is made up of pure metals. At current prices, the metals in the asteroid are estimated to be worth quintillions of Dollar.
MxPK TIL: China used RPGs to disperse rain clouds during the olympics
nMoo TIL James Watson 0 who in 1953 helped discover the structure of DNA - is still alive, still a scientist, and part of a project to discover the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
ne5X7 TIL about the business of “Adversary Air Support” in which a contractor has their own fleet of fighter jets that fly against U.S. military fighter pilots, replicating aerial threats from potential enemy nations.