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TIL about Mary Ann Brown Patten, who took command of a merchant vessel in 1856 when the captain, her husband, became ill and the first mate was found to be sabotaging the voyage to win a bet he'd placed on a competitor. She defeated a mutiny attempt and brought the ship safely back to port.

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KB0G TIL the reason the epidemic was called the “Spanish flu” is because neutral Spain had no wartime censorship during WWI. The press was free to report on outbreaks in Seville and Madrid, and on the illness of King Alfonso VIII. The first outbreak may have actually been in Kansas.
MZ4m TIL a Roman legionary trained often by regular marching for 18 miles in 5 hours and then speed marching for 21 miles in 5 hours in a single day, all the while carrying a backpack of 45 pounds and armor of 20 pounds.
kJ99g TIL about the “Bonus Army,” WWI veterans who in 1932 marched to D.C. demanding their promised wartime bonuses. Under Hoover’s orders, U.S. troops led by Gen. MacArthur used tear gas, bayonets, and tanks to crush them, killing 2 and injuring many.
R5gja TIL The Slow Loris is the only venomous primate. When threatened, they lick a gland on their inner elbow that, when mixed with their own saliva, creates a toxic compound known to cause muscle convulsions, heart and respiratory problems, unconsciousness, and even death through anaphylaxis shock.
1aPgX TIL that long-beaked echidnas have four-headed penises and are known as monotremes, meaning egg laying mammals. This perhaps hints at early mammalian evolution from reptiles. These guys are sadly critically endangered owing to habitat loss!