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TIL of “the Tree That Owns Itself.” In 1890, a landowner left an oak tree and the surrounding land to the tree itself. When the original tree was knocked down by a storm in 1940, the new tree was planted from an acorn and is now known as “The Son of the Tree That Owns Itself.”

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neom7 TIL that expensive prizes at events-- like winning a car for sinking a full-court shot at a basketball game, winning $1,000,000 for a hole-in-one, etc.-- are usually paid for by insurance companies. "Hole-in-one insurance" is an insurance policy that protects against someone winning a huge prize.
Bmye TIL From 1975 until 2013, Russia kept at least 10,000 more nuclear weapons than the US. The US dramatically reduced its number of weapons after 1975, to the point where Russia once had over 26,000 more weapons. In 2013 the numbers became nearly equal for the first time in decades.
mOoo TIL In Minnesota, there’s an amusement park where you can pay to shoot military machine guns, or better yet drive a tank. For extra you can crush cars.
4kkNN TIL the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" of 1925 was deliberately conceived as a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton, Tennessee. Residents of the town held a protest and threatened to boycott Chattanooga when the trial was initially to be moved there.
VBj1B TIL The accusation of Thomas Jefferson fathering Sally Hemings' children originated from the Federalists hoping to win the election. Jefferson didn't respond publicly but did so privately. Here's a letter he sent to Robert Smith on July 1, 1805: