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TIL a super-volcanic eruption in Indonesia caused a "Year Without Summer" in Europe and Eastern USA in 1816. This indirectly led to the invention of the bicycle, the writing of Frankenstein and Mormonism.

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nerRr TIL that Sam Houston, for whom the city of Houston is named, was deposed as governor of Texas by the legislature after refusing to support the Confederacy, saying “you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it.”
QP1L TIL that a gold $20 coin deflected a bullet that saved Lt. George Dixon’s life, and forever more became his lucky coin. The coin was found 137 years later in the sunken wreckage of the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley
Mgl7 TIL the reason Dennis Nedry says “Dodgson! We’ve got Dodgson here! See nobody cares” in Jurassic Park is because he’s recording the conversation and needs to mention Dodgson by name so he can potentially use the recording as blackmail.
VM1yQ TIL The aversion of most predators toward hunting honey badgers has led to the suggestion that the countershaded coats of cheetah cubs evolved in imitation of the honey badger's colouration, which warns off predators.
OoyGg TIL that Louis Vuitton (the designer) left his childhood home at age 13 after his mother's death. He then decided to go to Paris by foot, a journey that took him 2 years, finding shelter and work as he went along.