TIL George C. Scott agreed to star in "Patton" only if they used an earlier discarded script written by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola said "I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives this speech".
TIL of William Colepaugh, who upon being discharged from the US naval reserve defected to Nazi Germany in 1944. Trained as a spy, he was landed ashore at Gulf of Maine by an U boat. He voluntarily surrendered after partying with the money meant for espionage activities.
TIL in 1996 Pfizer killed 11 children during illegal human experiments in Nigeria while testing it's new antibiotic trovafloxacin (Trovan).
TIL David Bowie was so unconvinced of the commercial viability of his album "Low" that after its release he decided to tour as Iggy Pop's keyboardist instead of promoting the new record.
TIL that the day after Carrie Fisher died, while planning her funeral services, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, said "I want to be with Carrie," then immediately suffered a stroke a died.