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TIL During Ulysses S. Grant's world tour in Spain, Grant witnessed an attempted assassination attempt of King Alfonso XII from his Hotel De Paris balcony, saying he saw the flash of the assassin's pistol while Grant viewed the progress of the Royal Calvacade.

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oRJ57 TIL: The word Xmas has been used for over 1000 years with X (Chi) representing the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός (Christós).
R74o4 TIL The Vagabonds Act (1547) stated "if anyone refuses to work, he shall be condemned as a slave to the person who has denounced him as an idler." The owner could then force the new slave to do any work "no matter how vile." If the slave escaped three times, you could execute them.
bKL9 TIL The first recorded instance of a man “giving no fucks” was George Tucker in 1790. Writing about his son’s bookish tendencies, his poem says “I’d not give a fuck for all you’ve read”.
XAy8 TIL that after being spot on for almost 50 years, Moore’s law — which predicts the computing power to double every other year — is expected to slow down for the first time next year.
kOpm5 TIL about Collingwood Ingram, a British man who became an expert on cherry trees and saved the great white cherry from extinction in Japan.