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TIL that Jules Verne's Mysterious Island was based on Frisland, an island that appeared on maps from the 16th to the 18th century. Frisland was a hoax contrived by a pair of brothers who devised a culture reminiscent of the societies of Gulliver's Travels.

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4kVpw TIL Asthma is a disease of the lower airways of the lungs that affects between 1 and 5% of cats.
4Nj6 TIL of Anatoliy Golitsyn a KGB agent who defected to the US in 1961. He claimed the Soviets planned a long term deception strategy to lull the West into a false sense of security by appearing to break apart predicting the fall of the Berlin Wall, formation of the EU and financial problems in the US.
pYebQ TIL that Kate Bush is generally regarded as the first ever singer to use a wireless radio microphone on stage, made out of a wire clothes hanger, which allowed her to incorporate extensive dance routines into her live shows.
gMxmD TIL the English Language Day at the UN is on the same day as Spanish Language Day at the UN.
jNVgE TIL: The ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered the planet Pluto, were sent to outer space on the New Horizons spacecraft making his the first human remains to leave our solar system.