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TIL that sailors call the Suez Canal, the "Marlboro Canal", because of having to hand out crates of Marlboro to Egyptian pilots and authorities as an extortion fee.

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yQmoJ TIL It is believed the first Japanese citizen to set foot in America was Oguri Jukichi, captain of a freighter that was sailing off the Japanese coast in 1813 when a storm blew it deep into the Pacific Ocean. Two years later, they were rescued off the coast of California and returned to Japan.
jN9pa TIL the eldest son of the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb has played guitar for heavy metal bands including Black Label Society and Crowbar
gMmjW TIL about a 17th Century Swordswoman called Julie d'Aubigny, who fell in love with a nun at a convent. In order to run away with her new love, she stole the body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover, and set the room on fire to cover their escape.
nXKW TIL That Wagon trails from the Oregon Trail are still visible today
4X8dX TIL the name “California” comes from a 16th-century romance novel popular among the Spanish explorers who “discovered” the west coast.