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TIL the inspiration for Zorro was an early 1600s Irishman called William Lamport, referred to in Mexico as Don Guillén de Lampart. He was a bond-esque social chamelion, and at one point attempted to overthrow the Spanish Government with the support of many native, creole, and Black Mexicans.

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OyRL TIL that up to 1,500 baby raccoons were imported to Japan per year as pets during the 70’s due to the anime “Rascal Raccoon"s popularity. The descendants have multiplied after being released following a similar scene in the show. The population is now in the 200,000s and is a major destructive pest.
WX48 TIL the world’s first nuclear power plant, built by the USSR in 1951, wasn’t decommissioned until 2002
4XZO5 TIL that the UK invaded Iceland on May 10, 1940, fearing that the Germans would invade it first. Despite a shortage of weapons, an only partially trained force of 746 newly activated Marines, and a lack of surprise, the British were victorious. No one was injured, except for one UK suicide.
x609g TIL the UK's nuclear submarines all carry identitcally worded "Letters of Last Resort" which are handwritten by the current Prime Minister and destroyed when the Prime Minister leaves office
0w8Ep TIL of Chartreuse, a storied French liqueur with a recipe that dates back to the early 1600s. The recipe originated in an old alchemical textbook presented to an order of monks by an artillery marshal of the French army. The original order of monks retains brewing rights to this day.