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TIL Because of its fierce resistance to British occupation in the Revolutionary War, British commander Lord Cornwallis referred to Charlotte, NC as “a veritable hornet’s nest of rebellion”. This is how the Charlotte Hornets basketball team got its name.

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QJgEp TIL the Queen Termite has the longest life span of any insect in the world, living up to 50 years old
aJZb TIL that 3,278 Americans are serving life without parole for non-violent crimes, including petty crimes like shoplifting.
oBl48 TIL about Anthropologist Prof Joy Hendry who has spent 45 years researching Japan
nZRW TIL that in 2009 armed robbers used a helicopter to abseil onto the roof of a cash depot in Sweden. The cash was dropped into a local lake where it was picked up boat. To deter police the robbers used caltrops on local roads and fake IED’s on the police helicopters to keep them grounded.
5VYER TIL In 1956, a woman was awarded $300 in damages by the city of Miami after she was hit on the foot by a falling coconut. It was argued that the city should have been on notice that the coconut was a hazard, because "a reasonable man would assume it was about to fall when it turns brown".