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TIL of “The Petition of the Sharks of Africa.” An 18th Century satirical letter written to the British Parliament asking them NOT to abolish slave trading. The “sharks” were angry that slave ships would no longer sink and asked for mercy so loyal shark subjects wouldn’t starve.

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vPbnR TIL Laverie Vallee (née Cooper; July 18, 1875 – February 6, 1949), best known by her stage name Charmion, was an American vaudeville trapeze artist and strongwoman. One of her risqué trapeze acts was captured on film in 1901 by Thomas Edison.
6EPGZ TIL that Purple Passion Fruit (Passiflora incarnata) not only is used as herbal medicine. You can dry and use the leaves to make tea and can also smoke the dry leaf. Study’s shown that the extract from the plant performs as well as some benzodiazepines but with fewer side effects.
lo1O1 TIL: George Orwell, the author of 1984, was the one who coined the term "cold war" to describe post-WWII relationship between the US and the USSR. He used it to describe the new landscape that the atom bomb created.
ADGg4 TIL that according to the United States Flag Code, the flag “should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.” This includes paper napkins or plates printed with the design.
mwXv TIL Taser is an acronym for “Thomas A. Swift’s electric rifle”