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TIL: Pirates were generally considered by the English government to be reserve naval forces, and were sometimes given active encouragement such as knighthoods. Royal pardons were regularly issued and the public's opinion of pirates was often favorable, some considering them akin to patrons.

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v1rBL TIL fish eggs can survive and hatch after passing through a duck, providing one explanation of how seemingly pristine, isolated bodies of water can become stocked with fish
pnMQ TIL that during the Winter War 1939, one exceptionally burly Finnish ski trooper immobilized a Soviet tank with nothing but a crowbar, prying the treads off by brute force.
kJ9Zg TIL that organizers of the 2012 London Olympics contacted The Who’s manager to ask if Keith Moon would be available to play with the rest of the band in the opening ceremonies. (He died in 1978.)
awgeo TIL Nicolas Cage was arrested in 2011 for public intoxication, and was bailed out by a fan who was a bail bondsman. That bail bondsman was non other than Dog The Bounty Hunter.
5VLZD TIL of the Tree of 40 Fruit, the result of a project that uses grafting to produce a tree that grows forty types of stone fruit, including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, and almonds.