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TIL that in the early 19th-century the planet "Vulcan" was believed to actually exist in our solar system. Oddities in the orbit of Mercury led mathematicians to predict the presence of another planet closer to the sun. Later, Einstein's new theories of relativity helped disprove that hypothesis.

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rny4 TIL the RMS Empress of Ireland had a cat named Emmy. She never missed a voyage until May 28, 1914 when she refused to go aboard. The ship left without her and sunk the next day.
bvJQ TIL that after needing 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a record 1,000 times and saved 2,000,000 lives.
xVyQw TIL about 13-year old Eliza Armstrong who was purchased for £5 by journalist W.T. Stead in his attempt to expose sex slavery in Victorian London. Though his newspaper story led to tighter laws protecting women & girls, he was still arrested & jailed for abduction & procurement.
eAXE TIL That every purple heart awarded by the military since 1945 is one of the 500,000 purple hearts manufactured in anticipation of U.S. casualties resulting from the invasion of Japan. There 120,000 left.
XlMr TIL in 2009, an abusive litigant sued a man for $30k for selling him a $40 printer on Craigslist, claiming it was broken. The case lasted for 6½ years and, as of 2016, may still be on-going.