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TIL the first gold rush in the U.S. started in North Carolina, when a 12 year old boy found a 17lb nugget on his farm. Not knowing what it was, the boy's father sold it years later to a jeweler for only $3.50. Its true value at the time was $3500

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mxbrP TIL The M1 Abrams, currently the main battle tank of the U.S. Army, requires 10 US gallons (38 L) of fuel just to start the gas turbine
nWyJr TIL a woman lost her mother at 50 to fatal familial insomnia, a rare brain disease with no cure that removes the ability to sleep. After discovering she carried the gene, she and her husband quit their jobs to pursue research at Harvard to find a cure before the disease activates when she becomes 50
QGG6 TIL Andy Warhol, mentor and manager of The Velvet Underground, wanted their debut album to have a built-in crack, so that the line “I’ll be your mirror”, from the song of the same name, would repeat infinitely on a record player until the listeners moved the needle themselves
kO6Ee TIL that on February 20, 1939 there was a Nazi rally held at Madison Square Garden and over 20,000 people attended. The official name for the event was the “Pro American Rally”.
GAdoE TIL of Edward Russell, an English baron who spearheaded driving test and speed limit legislation. In 1935, he was indicted for vehicular manslaughter, but became the last peer to be tried by the House of Lords rather than a jury, and was acquitted. This privilege was abolished 13 years later.