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TIL the Swiss constitution of 1848 modelled itself on the US constitution, adopted fundamental rights and the separation of powers, but opted for a seven-member council instead of a single president to balance power regionally.

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via reddit.com

x6Vo7 TIL about Tojo, the monkey mascot of a WW2 US Air Force crew who crash landed in neutral Ireland, and who became such a local hero that he was given a full Irish wake and military funeral after he succumbed to a few days of solid Irish hospitality
mxyjo TIL that when John Denver's song Rocky Mountain High first was becoming a hit, some radio stations banned it because they thought it was about drugs. He convinced them that it was about how he felt when out in nature.
X0DO8 TIL about an engineer who made a motorcycle out of his wrecked car to escape the desert
6EEM8 TIL mixing diet soda with alcohol will get you drunker than using a sugar-based option.
VMAr0 TIL James Lick, once the wealthiest Californian, donated the world's first permanently staffed mountaintop telescope to the University of California in 1888. His will only stipulated that he is to be buried under it and fresh flowers placed on his grave "always".