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TIL that the first battle of WWI consisted of a British ship firing a single shot at a German ship on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi) in Africa, and taking the captain "prisoner." The two captains had been drinking buddies for years, and weren't about to let the war ruin it.

Read more telegraph.co.uk

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LknQr TIL Edgar Rice Burroughs earned just $400 USD for his first published story in 1912. However, 'Tarzan' would become a hit. Burroughs purchased a ranch in California in 1915-1919 & the citizens the community elected to name the city Tarzana, California.
XE1pk TIL Nauru, a tiny Polynesian nation, was once among the richest nations per capita in the world. They are currently among the poorest after depleting their natural resources and blowing their wealth on a failed Broadway musical.
XENME TIL of a "body farm", where the decomposition of human corpses is studied by leaving bodies outside in a variety of topographic and climate conditions. There are facilities in US, Canada, Australia, India, and UK. Over 100 bodies are donated to the University of Tennessee facility alone every year.
O0d4 TIL that regular coffee drinkers have a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other health problems due to an unidentified component interacting with the caffeine.
6EY7Y TIL all Australians are legally entitled to a free portrait of the Queen