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TIL there are an estimated 40 million slaves in the World today. For context, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was responsible for 12 million slaves over 400 years.

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ADKV4 TIL Family Video still operates over 500 stores in the US and Canada. They own the real estate where their stores are located and they own all of the media they rent out so they keep all of the profits. This is why they were able to outlast other video rental businesses like Blockbuster.
a8bO0 TIL the only known orca to regularly travel in the Gulf of Maine is a 30-ft male called Old Thom, who's sporadically been seen in it (often accompanied by a pod of dolphins) over the past 20 years. No one has ever reported seeing him with another orca; his solitary existence has perplexed scientists
P19rg TIL the Supreme Court established "the reindeer rule" determining that sufficient secular elements can counterbalance religious components in a public display, meaning that municipalities include reindeer in addition to religious holiday displays to avoid violating the First Amendment.
D1MmV TIL that the reason that Australia is formally named "The Commonwealth of Australia" is that the framers who wrote the Australian Constitution were obsessed with a book called "The American Commonwealth" that described American democracy in the 1870's. They give it the same "reverence as the Bible".
4kL9X TIL of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. French driver Pierre Levegh crashed into a crowd of spectators. The crash, explosion and subsequent fire killed 84 and injured more than 120. It is still the deadliest car race crash ever.