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TIL: William Ellison (1790 – 1861), a freed slave, became a wealthy plantation owner, supported the Confederate States of America and held 60 of his own slaves

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4X5yN TIL that Jamaica has a national bobsleigh team. Since its debut in 1988, they have represented their country in the Winter Olympics seven times—six times for the men's team, and once for the women's team.
W79Xd TIL Marthe Cnockaert was Mentioned in Dispatches, awarded Legions of Honour and the Iron Cross for her WW1 service. The Iron Cross was for medical services to Germans while the others were for Allies spy work. Cnockaert was captured but not executed because of her Iron Cross, she survived the war.
ZDJp TIL Ancient Irish kings were inaugurated in a symbolic wedding to the land, claimed to involve sex with a white mare followed by bathing in a broth made from the mare
e0NYb TIL Petula Clark caused a stir when she touched the arm of Harry Belafonte during a duet. She refused to destroy the negative and sponsors lost their cool. She and her husband ensured the negatives remained in tact by locking herself in the editing suite and refused to do another take.
e1xJ TIL Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuss, is an allegory for post-WWII US occupation of Japan. Seuss, who was vehemently anti-Japanese during the conflict, had a drastic change of heart after visiting postwar Japan. He dedicated the book to a Japanese friend.