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TIL in 1744, two Scottish Presbyterian ministers made a plan to have fellow ministers pay a small amount a year into a fund, which would be used to take care of their widows if ministers died. It became the blueprint for modern insurance, and their fund, Scottish Widows, is now worth billions.

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pZAZ TIL There were 12 dogs on the Titanic; 3 survived, mostly because they were tiny. There was supposed to be also one cat with young kittens on board the ship to control the rat population - but she was seen disembarking, retrieving one kitten at a time, in Southampton.
wo6K1 TIL a U.S. presidential candidate can win the Electoral College with only 23% of the popular vote. It’s unlikely but possible and it’s time to abolish the EC.
WPaB TIL of Joe Angelo who saved George S. Patton’s life in WW1, went broke during the Depression, joined the Bonus Army Protests of 1932 where he encountered Patton commanding troops to quell the protests. He approached Patton to sway him, Patton pretended to not know who he was and had him removed.
dDrL8 TIL there are 42,634 high schools in the United States. In 2023 the Ivy League Colleges are expected to enroll 14,308 students. If every Valedictorian applied to an Ivy League school, and only Valedictorians were accepted, less than 34% would get a spot.
vP1NB TIL about the Carrington Event: in 1859 a massive solar flare spewed electrified gas and subatomic particles toward Earth, wreaking havoc on telegraph networks. Today it would stop our “modern life” for weeks.