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TIL that Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys, famous for the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga, was established to resist New York's attempts to reclaim their land. Allen and his settlers purchased NY-controlled land from New Hampshire. NY branded the settlers outlaws, who then trained to fight back.

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Ookgg TIL during the Revolutionary War the smallpox epidemic threatened the troops of G. Washington so badly he forbade inoculating troops fearing that doing so would make too many sick and leave the army without sufficient strength. Washington himself had been exposed when young making him immune.
JY4w1 TIL forensic scientists while determining the time of death, note that drugs found in dead bodies will alter the development rates of insects feeding on a corpse. Cocaine will speed up fly/maggot rates and Morphine or Heroine will slow it down.
GYVk4 TIL During WWI, cotton was in high demand for the manufacture of uniforms and explosives. For bandages, doctors turned to using sphagnum moss. It can hold up to 22 times its own weight in liquid -- twice as absorptive as cotton. The moss is also antiseptic, making the surrounding environment acidic
ZbWR TIL that after the release of the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, tourists came to Thailand to see the fictional bridge. Since there never was a bridge on the Kwai, the Thai renamed a portion of the Mae Klong river containing a bridge to satisfy the tourists.
GYmAG TIL dating is a game of probability: if you want the best chance at finding the perfect one, date and reject the first 37% (1/e) of potential suitors and pick the next person who is better than anyone you have dated before.