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TIL the body of water that includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico is known to German oceanographers as the American Mediterranean Sea

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ednn TIL Mt. St Helens erupted while the Grateful Dead were performing ‘Fire on the Mountain’ in Portland, OR on June 12, 1980.
1aa5V TIL the name Vanessa was invented by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom he tutored. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh and "Essa" from a pet form of Esther.
QJvja TIL San Marino claims to be the oldest extant sovereign state as well as the oldest constitutional republic by gaining independence from the Roman empire in 301.
oMRr TIL that when Perdue Pharmaceuticals made OxyContin crush/melt/tamper resistant in 2010 prescriptions fell 20% nationwide and heroin ODs rose 20%
9Yb0B TIL about Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest ranking officer in the military to be discharged for homosexuality. She won a lawsuit and was subsequently one of the only openly gay people to serve during "don't ask, don't tell."