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TIL the Battle of Antietam during the US Civil War saw 53,632 Union soldiers against 30,646 Confederate soldiers. The 12 hours of brawl led to 22,727 casualties from both sides, and became a major turning point in the Union's favor.

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ADkXl TIL the Bronx Zoo put a Congolese man on display in the monkey cage in 1906
JYd68 TIL in Ancient Rome some condemned prisoners were executed onstage at the theater as "actors" for famous death scenes
b64Nj TIL that there is a McDonalds-themed Black Sabbath tribute band called "Mac Sabbath".
JYwL1 TIL in 1940 Soviet secret police executed 22,000 Poles. After the war, Germany was blamed for the massacre and several German servicemen were falsely convicted at Allied trials after forced confessions. The real details of the executions did not come to light until 1989.
5llB TIL that russian peasants used to practice 6 month periods of psudo hibernation each and every year to stave off starvation and famine. It was called the ‘Winter Sleep’ or 'lotska’.