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TIL that after an intense 8 artillery week barrage, British troops on the first day of the Battle of the Somme were so sure of their victory that 4 platoons had a competition to see who could kick a soccer ball into the German trenches first. Nearly 20,000 British men were killed that day

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womR1 TIL In a single battle in a single day, one-quarter of the entire United States Army had been destroyed. It was the most decisive defeat in American history with 69% of soldiers killed and 97% casualties. It's known as St Clair's defeat and Major General St Clair resigned his commission afterwards.
v1Pp4 TIL that an author wrote 'Vienna without Jews' in 1922. 16 years later, jews were hunted down under Hitler's command
69XQW TIL: Some solid chemicals can absorb so much air moisture that they dissolve in it. This is called deliquescence.
NX7ZQ TIL the suicide rate in England rose by 17% in the four weeks after the death of the Princess of Wales. This number was even higher amongst women (34%) and young women (45%)
Xywj TIL In 1969, France placed an arms embargo on Israel after the Israeli government had already paid for a delivery of war ships. The French didn’t deliver on all of the ships. Israel responded by sending a team of commandos to France who managed steal and pilot the remaining ships back to Israel.