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TIL In 1574, the Dutch city of Leiden was under siege by Spanish forces. The defenders breached dykes, flooding the low lying countryside. Naval ships reached the city on Oct 3rd, bringing bread and herring and ending the siege. Leiden still gives citizens free bread and herring every Oct 3rd.

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N7ZBP TIL, Wisconsin uses briny water from cheese production to de-ice their roads in winter.
NDVQ TIL of French diplomat and spy to England a Russia Chevalier d'Éon. Once retired, he revealed that he had actually been a woman. She was henceforth made to wear gender appropriate clothing for the rest of her life. When she died, they found out she was actually a man. He was double crossdressing.
GYRKj TIL Malaria did not kill half of all humans who have ever lived
8aVLZ TIL of the death of Don Henry and Keven Ives, who were hit by a train as they lay on the tracks. The deaths were initially ruled an accident as a result of the boys sleeping on the tracks due to marijuana intoxication. The cause of death was changed to "definite homicide" after a second autopsy.
oBOrE TIL in 2007, Hong Kong researchers warned the "presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb"