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TIL that the person who named "America" intended it to apply only to a specific part of Brazil

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VbaZ TIL during WWII, Dutch railroad workers went on strike to undermine the German war effort. In response the Germans blocked food supplies to the country, resulting in a famine that killed over 20,000
BOXr TIL The US Army Special Forces have a training exercise where they have to liberate a fake country called “Pineland” in the style of a LARP. Since the exercise is based within an actual town, actual civilians are often called upon to preform roles such as shopkeepers or torturers.
oNPW TIL Mark Zuckerburg, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet signed a promise they called the “Giving Pledge”, in which they promised to donate to charity at least half of their wealth over the course of time.
M7bA0 TIL one of Robert MacNaughton's auditions for E.T. was at Harrison Ford's house because Ford & Melissa Mathison (who wrote the script) were together, and his kids Ben & Willard played Dungeons & Dragons. The audition entailed all of them playing D&D together. He won the role of older brother Michael
DQwEV TIL that the first touch screen in a car was in a 1986 Buick Riviera.