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TIL that the last legal duel-to-the-death in the USA was fought in 1859, and it resulted in the death of A U.S. senator at the hands of a Supreme Court (of California) justice.

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jN7Qp TIL that Marion Stokes built an archive of network, local, and cable news, in her home, one tape at a time, recording every major (and trivial) news event until the day she died in 2012 at the age of 83 of lung disease.
GY9B1 TIL during WWII, Admiral William Halsey sailed the US Third Fleet through a category 2 typhoon, causing three destroyers to capsize, 790 lives lost and 146 airplanes damaged beyond repair. In 1945, Halsey tried yet again to sail into another typhoon, this time losing 75 planes and 6 lives.
4XA1N TIL that George Washington was born on February 11th, but when his birthday first became a holiday it was celebrated on February 22nd. This is because when Washington was born, British colonies were still using the Julian calendar, which was 11 days behind the Gregorian.
EgEXW TIL that California is named after a fictitious island described in a series of 16th century Spanish romance novels. The island was described as being inhabited by beautiful black women who wore gold armor.
XegQ TIL 2,000 year-old seeds were discovered in Israel around 1965 to be held in storage for the next 40 years. After they were planted, a tree that has been extinct for 1,800 years sprouted.