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TIL according to legend Thomas Nelson Jr., a Founding Father and Revolutionary War general, ordered his artillery to direct their fire on his own house during the siege of Yorktown because it was occupied by British General Cornwallis, offering five guineas to the first man who hit the house.

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b9brE TIL in 1909, the first truly salacious hit song “I Love, I Love, I Love My Wife—But Oh! You Kid!” made the leap from vaudeville stage to the sheet music stands of a million parlor room pianos in America, inciting newspaper editorials, outraged sermons by preachers, and at least one fatal shooting.
xVPjk TIL that female slaves in the American South would chew on cotton root to abort a pregnancy, decreasing the production of more slave children
b9yA0 TIL Stork embroidery scissors were originally umbilical clamps used by midwives to restrict blood flow before cutting. Midwives began sharpening them as sewing scissors to use during the long awaited times before delivery.
WkQYd TIL in 1973 a white police officer in Dallas, TX killed a 12-year old Hispanic boy during an illegal interrogation and was sentenced to a mere 5 years in prison and only served half that
KYjaB TIL that the King of Hearts is the only king without a mustache, which is part of the reason he's often referred to as the "Suicide King."