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TIL that Michel "Marshal" Ney 'refused to wear a blindfold and was allowed the right to give the order to fire' at his own Execution.

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Wkngd TIL that only two foreign flags were flown over the White House. Flag of Serbia was the first one to be raised in 1918 for their WW1 achievments and war solidarity, with latter being French flag in 1920 to commemorate the French Bastille Day
DVVr TIL the U.S. is running out of Plutonium-238, which is necessary for space missions because only nuclear power can provide reliable energy so far from the sun for such an extended period of time
lo675 TIL: 27 years ago, Sinead O'Connor tore up the pope's picture on national TV. When performing a cover of Marley's "War" on SNL, rewriting a few of the lyrics to address child abuse. As she finished the song she produced and tore to shreds a photograph of the Pope shouting, "Fight the real enemy!"
ep01b TIL The Phoenix Suns had no official mascot until a fan came to a home game dressed as a gorilla. As he left, security suggested he dance underneath the basket during a timeout, and the crowd loved it. The fan kept coming to games until he was officially invited to be part of the team.
N7r4E TIL that the scientists who first discovered the platypus thought it was fake. Although indigenous Aboriginal people already knew of the creature, European scientists assumed an egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, venomous mammal had to be an elaborate hoax.