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TIL that in 1939, the US army was ranked nineteenth in size in the world, behind Portugal and only slightly ahead of Bulgaria. Its equipment was obsolete, and it relied heavily on horses

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l7RXa TIL that Marine Corps Captain John W. Ripley was awarded the Navy Cross in Vietnam for climbing under a bridge several times while under fire to plant a combined 500 pounds of explosives in order to destroy it and separate his men from enemy. He survived the action and retired a Colonel in 1992.
OoLpg TIL that Alessandro Volta not only invented battery, but also discovered and isolated methane and was a prime minister of short-lived Cisalpine Republic
mxNZP TIL that a son posthumously inducted his father into the Baseball Hall of Fame by leaving a photo of him underneath a display at the museum. 6 years later it was found by a staff member. After identifying the man in the photo the museum framed the photo and is now on display near where it was found.
ANQ9a TIL Iceland has no McDonald's restaurants anywhere in the country. McDonald's left Iceland on 30 October 2009, as a result of the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and high import tariff on imported ingredients which required the prices of their products to increase.
4JOR TIL that prior to 1999, the mythical American Express Black Card was just that: a myth. The myth became so pervasive that AmEx decided to capitalize on it and actually make a black, ultra exclusive credit card.