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TIL in his youth economist John Law fought a sword duel over the affections of a woman. Law killed his opponent, and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to a fine. After an appeal by the victim’s brother he was imprisoned, but Law escaped to Amsterdam.

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WkJa4 TIL that after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government was worried Japan would invade Hawaii and seize all the U.S. currency there. As a precaution, the U.S. burned $200 million in cash circulating on the islands, and replaced them with freshly printed bills with “Hawaii” stamped on them.
KNn4 TIL that the “there are people starving in Africa so your suffering is invalid” argument has a name: Fallacy of relative privation
oBJxK TIL the Apollo astronauts could not get life insurance, so they signed hundreds of envelopes as memorabilia in the event of their death.
XDdE TIL of Mira, a dying star zipping through our universe shedding its matter, each bit of which may one day grow into a new, individual star of its own. NASA has called it “The Johnny Appleseed of The Universe.
VBLmk TIL there’s a species of jellyfish that can reverse their age once reaching adulthood