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TIL that there is about 2 times as many people of Scottish ancestry living in the United States and Canada compared to Scotland.

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6EVp7 TIL that after 2 years of using a Catalan mercenary company to fight the Turks, the Byzantine emperor betrayed the company and tried to wipe them out in 1305. The mercenaries went on a rampage so destructive that the monks of Mount Athos only lifted their ban of Catalan citizens in the year 2000.
mxZXR TIL that Otto von Bismarck challenged a scientist to a duel, but backed out after learning that his opponent choose to fight with two pork sausages, one infected with roundworm.
QmG6 TIL North Korea appears pitch black at night based on NASA satellite images. Entire streets shut down, and people go to bed early with nothing else to do in the darkness. South Korea use 10,162 kilowatt hours per person a year compared to North Korea who only use 739.
nb7o TIL Roller Coaster tycoon was programmed by one guy. In Assembly.
GA5OE TilL about Peter Hagendorf a German mercenary who fought during the 30 years war and kept a diary. In it he casually describes the death of several of his children being assaulted and robbed by peasants and abducting women.