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TIL Firestone funded warlord Charles Taylor in Liberia in order to have access to their rubber plantation. Taylor considered Firestone their most significant source of funds for the war.

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PwnG TIL that Finnish people were believed to be able to control weather. This resulted in reluctance to accept Finnish Sailors aboard ships from the Vikings all the way until the 1900s.
WaGd TIL Australia has 5 timezones. Unlike other timezones that are almost completely vertical, the country has a few split up into North and South. Only 2 of the timezones are affected by Daylight Savings.
7ronp TIL an astronomer travelled to India in 1760 to observe Venus. His ship blew off course, and he missed the date. He stayed in India for 8 years to try again, but the sky was too cloudy. When he returned home, he had been declared dead, his wife remarried, his estate plundered, and his job lost
grVMb TIL Comedian and actor Ray Romano is also a professional poker player, participating in the World Series of Poker in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
X0EY8 TIL that in the original novel of "The Silence of the Lambs", Hannibal Lecter doesn't drink Chianti with the Census taker's liver, but instead Amarone. Amarone is frequently paired with offal, such as Liver, and also with Hunted game.