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TIL in 1952, more than 100,000 U.S. Army troops descended on Lampasas, Texas as part of Operation Longhorn, a military exercise that trained soldiers how to retake a town from communist invaders

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8ADP TIL that Bill Gates told the creators of the Altair 8800 that he was working on a BASIC interpreter for the computer when he, in fact, was not and didn’t even own an Altair. When the president of the company asked for a demo, Gates made an Altair emulator with a BASIC interpreter within a few weeks.
OGeL7 TIL The invention of the original silly string was accidental. Was originally intended as a spray-on instant cast for fractures.
4Xee5 TIL of an ancient city, Cahokia, which was settled circa 600 AD and by 1250 was bigger than London. The cultural heritage site is located 8 miles from the Gateway Arch, in Illinois. The city was made up of pyramids and large earthen mounds, and “Woodhenge,” which marked the soltices and equinoxes.
xm4w TIL no Canadian Prime Minister has been assassinated while serving their term and only two have died in office, as a result of a stroke, and heart attack respectively.
LkOGp TIL of Katsuma Dan, a Japanese marine biologist who studied in the US before WW2 and who saved his marine lab with a note to advancing American forces asking to preserve his scientific work. (note in comments)