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TIL that Madame Tussaud made wax death masks of those executed in the French Revolution including Marie Antoinette. She had been readied for the guillotine herself before being pardoned to make the death masks.

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wLG8E TIL that a sailor, Gonzalo Guerrero, shipwrecked in the Yucatan years before Cortez began his conquest of Mexico. He eventually became a respected warrior among the Mayans and even led military campaigns. On his suggestion, native tribes ambushed and crushed Spains first expedition into Mexico.
W4bY TIL that we actually have photographs showing entire star systems being warped in space-time by immense gravitational force. These Gravitational Lenses appear to us a circular bubble of stars and galaxies, and prove Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
kOLO5 TIL that colour photography has existed as far back as the 1850s
wor0M TIL that Jack-O-Lanterns originated in Ireland and were made from turnips!
WkPmN TIL that George S. Patton, before being temporarily appointed to the General Staff Corps in Boston, saved several children from drowning in August of 1923 when they fell off a yacht during a boating trip off Salem, MA. He was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal for this action.