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TIL The Order of Assassins (1090 - 1275) were a Shia Islamic order in the Middle East. The Arabic term hashishi (consumer of hashish), a derogatory term for the order, became the root of the term “assassin”. The modern term assassination is believed to stem from the tactics used by the Assassins.

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7rrAO TIL of Colonel Charles Young, the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the US Army. After being denied promotion to brigadier general under the guise of fitness, he rode on horseback from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to disprove rumors of his poor health.
VBgQp TIL Bubble lights used for Christmas decorations contain methylene chloride, a carconigenic solvent.
WJ8L TIL that astronomers have discovered 26 new black holes in the Andromeda galaxy, which neighbors Earth’s Milky Way galaxy.The group of 26 is the largest trove discovered at one time in a galaxy other than the Milky Way.
Oo4we TIL that Nicholas Cage spent $150 million on a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull, a tomb, a $150,000 first edition Superman comic, pygmy heads, two European castles; one worth $10 million and the other $2.6 million, and 15 residences. He later had to return the skull to the Mongolian govt.
LQp4V TIL that Apollo 11 astronauts couldn’t afford insurance. Life insurance for a space mission cost a lot, because the risks were extremely high back then. So instead, the astronauts of Apollo 11 signed hundreds of postal covers that their families could sell in case anything went wrong.