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TIL Sir John Smith, who founded Jamestown, was knighted by a prince of Transylvania, for beheading three Turkish commanders in 3 separate duels. He later captured as a slave, and given by a Turkish nobleman to his mistress, the woman subsequently fell in love with Smith and He escaped 2 years later.

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EgEld TIL that the Teletubbies from the BBC Children's series had a hit single - "Teletubbies say Eh-oh!" - which reached Number One on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1997. It remained in the top 100 for a total of 41 weeks and sold well enough to be certified double platinum.
R7PjQ TIL that in 1996, an American citizen swam across a Chinese river into North Korea on a drunken dare. He got caught, was held and imprisoned under suspicion of being a spy, but was eventually released back to the U.S. He committed suicide a few weeks later.
a8pB0 TIL that Tubercolosis was long thought to be associated with poetic and artistic qualities in its sufferers, and was also known as "the romantic disease". People believed that the fever and infections brought by the disease helped artists view life more clearly.
woXDM TIL about Hagfish - They have a skull & no spine, no jaws & teeth on its tongue. It's unknown how they reproduce or how to tell one's age. They secrete a fiber reinforced 'slime' that researchers hope may innovate many future materials. In 300m years they have only evolved by losing their eyesight.
xnD1 TIL Although violet and purple look very similar, violet is a true color with its own set of wavelengths on the spectrum of visible light, while purple is a composite color made by combining blue and red