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TIL In the mid-1800's Italy installed several British built 100-ton, 450mm black powder cannons on it's newest warships and in response the British bought several from the same manufacturer to install on the island of Malta. None of the guns were never used in any conflict and only two exist today.

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X0GGD TIL that on January 6th, 1853, a tragic train derailment killed the 11 year old son of Franklin Pierce, who was President-Elect of the United States at the time. His wife believed that the accident was God punishing them because Pierce ran for President against her wishes.
8eQGK TIL that during the War of 1812, Britain sent out a fake letter in Detroit that claimed they had 5,000 Native American warriors (they had about a tenth of that) and ensured their US enemy obtained this memo. It led to the US surrendering in Detroit, without a single British death.
gKB8 TIL that the Sahara desert is vastly expanding. 12 African nations have banded together pledging to build a 9 mile wide band of trees, that will stretch across Africa (4,750 miles), called “the Green Wall,” to halt its expansion.
kJ4re TIL a volcanic eruption in 1783 in Iceland led to famine across Europe which may have spurred the French Revolution and modern democracy.
R5dM8 TIL the world's largest shopping mall is in Iran. (Iran also has the 4th largest.) Kuwait has the second largest. China holds 3 spots in the top 10. The largest mall in the US, The Mall of America, is the twelfth largest worldwide.