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Ten Random Facts

Playwright William Wells Brown was the first black American to write a play in the United States. Escape, or A Leap for Freedom, was written in 1858.
People

Eleven days before the statute of limitations was to expire on the Brink's robbery in Boston, Massachusetts, that netted nearly $3 million in January 1950, one of the robbers confessed and betrayed his fellow robbers.
Laws and Customs

Per reports written by Captain John Smith, the first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in his 1607 Jamestown settlement. "Nog" comes from the word "grog," which refers to any drink made with rum.
Food and Drink

The oyster is usually ambisexual. Through its life it will change from male to female and back again numerous times.
Animals

On a clear day, you can see five states from atop the Empire State Building in New York City: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Structures

Unlike most female animals, the female rice rat is the one that searches for and pursues a mate.
Animals

Ishi had made it very clear before he died that he did not want to be autopsied. However, his wishes were ignored and his body was autopsied and the brain removed and sent to the Smithsonian, where scientists were collecting brains for a study of brain size and race. After 83 years, the Smithsonian is finally returning the brain of Ishi to his closest relatives so they can bury his remains.
History

In 17th-century Massachusetts, smoking was legal only at a distance of five miles from any town.
Laws and Customs

Most Virgin Islanders are the descendants of slaves who worked colonial plantations.
Statistics

Women were not allowed to vote in France until 1944.
Laws and Customs

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