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TIL Charles Gilbert Gates built a mansion off Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis Minnesota and was the first person to build air conditioning into his home.

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KJeE TIL Children’s books have 50% more rare words written in them than words spoken in an average showing of adult prime-time television.
b9r17 TIL there’s a single word for spirits/angels/deities whose job is to escort the dead to the afterlife. “Psychopomp”
LyaP TIL United Fruit Company’s main rival was Guatemala, who exported lots of fruit. To eliminate them, United lied to the US government that Guatemala’s government was Pro-Soviet. The US staged a coup, which led to the 36 year long Guatemalan civil war.
R694 TIL in 1846, Albert Tirrell became the first to successfully use sleepwalking as a defense for murder and arson in the United States.
yLRM TIL in ancient Rome, a gladiator was only someone who fought against other men. If you were in the arena facing wild beasts, you were called a bestiarii. There were two types of bestiarii: those condemned to die in such a manner, and those doing it voluntarily, for pay or for glory.