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TIL in 1976 there was a wine tasting competition in Paris that blindly compared Californian wines to French wines. California won and the lone reporter covering the event was blacklisted for reporting it.

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Bg0Wr TIL that the work of Charles Drew, a pioneer in preserving blood, led to large-scale blood bank use, U.S. blood donations to Britons in WWII, and the use of bloodmobiles. He resigned as chief of the first American Red Cross blood bank over a policy that separated the blood of black and white people.
bxdZ TIL that on the day Skyrim was released, a family named their kid Dovahkiin. In responds, Bethesda has given the family a lifetime supply of free games and merchandise from Bethesda
OKNg TIL 20 to 25 percent of US Army officers killed during the Vietnam War were fragged by soldiers under their command. Soldiers posted bounties in underground GI newspapers and pooled money to pay out rewards for the murder of targeted officers.
PYAEV TIL that in 2012, a British couple who was getting married in Manchester jokingly invited Queen Elizabeth II to their wedding. Their surprise was great when the queen came to attend their wedding accompanied by her husband.
xJDB TIL that due to a lack of historical evidence, the Mythbusters deemed it plausible that eyepatches were for keeping one eye adapted to the dark so that pirates could see easier below deck.