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TIL the word “checkmate” derives from the Persian phrase “Shah Met” which means “the King is Dead.”

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5VBOD TIL the world’s longest wedding dress train is 8,095.40 meters, which is almost long enough to reach Mount Everest at 8,850 meters.
DQ0Vv TIL Mexico didn't recognize millions of descendents of African peoples they enslaved...until 2019. And the UN basically had to shame them into doing it.
ADGeg TIL many islands are connected to the internet by just one undersea cable. Most of these cables aren't buried, they just lay on the bottom of the ocean. In 2019, the entire Island of Tonga had no internet for 13 days due to their cable accidentally getting cut by an oil tanker.
gDyD TIL for over 200 years, Martha’s Vineyard had a very high percentage of deaf citizens due to the founder effect. Virtually everyone was fluent in sign language and deafness was not a social barrier. Martha’s Vineyard sign language went extinct in 1952.
VM56Q TIL Tree experts pointed out a mistake in current Canadian currency. Instead of it's notes featuring Canadian maple leaves, it instead features Norwegian maple leaves. Although, both look fairly similar.