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TIL about Robert Smalls, a former slave who escaped by stealing a Confederate gunship, The CSS Planter. He did it by giving the correct signals at checkpoints, fooling Confederate onlookers from shore. After gaining his freedom, he became a successful businessman, publisher, & politician.

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9wKkM TIL Thomas Cromwell led the persecution of Anne Boleyn based on a prophecy of "secret treason" against Henry VIII by "children of unbelief." Anne opposed Cromwell's harder line on the church but when a priest close to her attacked Cromwell in a sermon Cromwell became convinced the prophecy was true.
b6r84 TIL that Snoop Dogg is paid $500k a day plus expenses as a special correspondent for NBC until the end of the Olympics. Snoop Dogg will allegedly cash in a whopping total of $8m for the entire 16-day span of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
78y8r TIL that the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois are at the largest pre-Colombian city in North America. At it's peak in 1100 CE, the city covered 6 square miles and housed upwards of 15,000 inhabitants. Indigenous people today, including the Cherokee and Choctaw, continue these mound-building traditions.
0d6E5 TIL That Mary Shelly finished writing her masterpiece Frankenstein at the age of 19.
WopY TIL that in 1994, Tim Allen simultaneously starred in the highest grossing film (The Santa Clause), topped the New York Times best-seller list with his book (Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man), and appeared in the top rated television series (Home Improvement)