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TIL the name Gretchen is not a common stand-alone given name in German-speaking countries but a colloquial diminutive of Grete - from Margarete. Gretchen as a given name is mainly prevalent in the United States

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j6PBj TIL that the first time the Albanian language was mentioned in History was a witness of a crime reporting he had heard someone yelling in Albanian.
nWn0Y TIL Sussex County, UK, is divided into territorial sub-divisions called "rapes"
R7Rm7 TIL Leonard Nimoy released multiple albums, including a two sided record titled "Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy". One side featured him singing songs as Spock; the other side featured songs related to his personal interests.
8aVDL TIL that although Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was written to include cannons firing and cathedral bells, synchronising them with an orchestra proved all but impossible. It wasn't until 1954 that composer Antal Doráti mixed a studio recording with cannons and bells, finally playing it as intended.
LBev TIL once 4th largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea, has declined to only 10% of its original size since the 1960’s. The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been called one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters.