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TIL Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, was elected to the French National Convention despite speaking no French. He was later arrested and narrowly escaped execution during the French Terror.

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6EpdX TIL: Russians have portable deapth charge launcher
b9JQ7 TIL - between the 4th and 5th century, ancient Athens adopted Ostracism, a (check and balance) system that allowed the citizens to vote to exile and banish anyone deemed a threat or tyrant for ten years. The ostracism was only considered valid if the total number of votes counted to at least 6000
J1Q68 TIL that Frankfurt has a neighborhood w a Mediterranean microclimate, due to sunlight reflected off the river and wind-resistance, where even palms and bananas grow called The Nizza
eGWk TIL USS Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers are 50 times more stealthy than any destroyer currently in service. Advanced stealth technology allows the 610-foot long warship to appear as a small fishing boat on radar.
rN6yy TIL in 2012, university scientists & international investigators purposely crashed a 727 in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico to find out which area of the plane passengers had the greatest chance of survival. The crash revealed passengers seated from the wings & back were more likely to survive a crash.