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TIL that Diedrich Knickerbocker, a pseudonym used by writer Washington Irving in his satirical first novel A History of New York, inspired the name used to describe Dutch settlers, Manhattanites, and a type of baggy trousers, along with the name of the New York Knicks NBA team.

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dDYAZ TIL Hungary had more casualties in World War 2 than the United Kingdom, or the United States
ayZL TIL of Wong Chin Foo, a 19th century Chinese-American civil rights activist. He launched NYC’s first Chinese newspaper and was active in politics. Wong once challenged Denis Kearney, an anti-Chinese demagogue, to a duel. He offered Kearney “his choice of chopsticks, Irish potatoes or Krupp guns.”
61Y8 TIL In the late 70’s, in protest of homosexuality being classified as an illness in Sweden, Swedes called in sick for work with a case of “feeling a bit homosexual”
ONAY TIL that the famous submersible Alvin is a real-life example of the philosophical “Ship of Theseus” paradox. “The Alvin” has been in service since 1965, but every single part of it has been replaced or upgraded at least once.
0dPry TIL that the 2009–2011 Toyota recalls affected 9 million vehicles, and investigations revealed that unintended acceleration was mostly due to mechanical issues or driver error, not electronic defects