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TIL that in 1914, 17 year old Princess Mary decided to distribute tin boxes containing small Christmas gifts to British Empire troops at the frontlines in WW1. After trying to finance it from her own allowance she set up a fund, appealed to the public and raised the equivalent of £17M today.

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9Y7bM TIL Buster Keaton's film The Navigator (1924) was filmed on the USAT Buford. The ship had previously been used for the First Red Scare, as the "Soviet Ark" to deport 249 "undesirables" from the United States to revolutionary Russia, among them the noted anarchist Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman.
PY4n TIL There was a scam called the “Spanish prison letter,” where victims received letters claiming to be written by a previously unknown Wealthy relative trapped in a Spanish prison. the prisoner would promise to share his fortune with the victim if they could manage to send the bail money.
e04OD TIL that Red Foreman in That 70's Show was supposed to be played by Chuck Norris, but he was unable to make his audition due to scheduling conflicts
QJbZM TIL Before vegetation was removed from the Roman Colosseum in 1871, over 400 species of plants grew on the ruins, due in part to the seeds ingested by exotic animals killed in the games
GDb5 TIL Mormon families are encouraged by church leaders to be prepared for disasters, and that most Mormon families stockpile three months supplies of food and water and have community emergency plans in place wherever they are located.