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TIL of John Deydras, a clerk who claimed to be the real King Edward II, but swapped as babies. He attempted to claim a palace and challenged Edward to single combat. At his trial, he confessed to making it up and blamed his cat, which had been possessed by the devil. Both he and the cat were hanged.

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DJbJ TIL in preparation for his role in Fury(2014) Shia LaBeouf joined the US National Guard, got a tattoo that says “Surrender to Jesus”, pulled a tooth out, cut his own face, didn’t bathe for 4 months and spent days watching horses die.
obKK TIL of Maurice Wilson, who in 1934 died in an attempt to climb Mount Everest by flying halfway around the world, crash-landing on the mountain, and then walking to the summit despite having no experience in either mountaineering or aviation.
Jov1 TIL a “Butt” was a medieval unit of measurement for wine, and a butt load of wine was equivalent to 129 gallons.
oBPKW TIL diamonds are used as conflict gemstone's because they are much more common than other stones -- not because of their value.
loe67 TIL that in 1665, the University of Cambridge temporarily closed due to the Bubonic plague. Isaac Newton had to work from home, where he used that time to develop calculus and the theory of gravity.