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TIL Frank Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a singer with mob associations, in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was based on his life leading Sinatra to shout abuse and threaten physical violence when he met Puzo at a restaurant.

e0aln TIL In 1955 GE scientist Tracy Hall manufactured the first Synthetic Diamonds that are widely used today in many industrial applications; for compensation, he was given a $10 savings bond.
JYd0j TIL: Most Coal formed before Fungus could break down trees. After Fungus evolved to do so, Coal became far less likely to form naturally making it a true non-renewable resource.
dDwrQ TIL Though they have ancient origins the modern western popularity of earth shelters was driven by the 1973 Oil Crisis and back-to-the-land movement. However the most earth shelters are in Northern China, where approximately 10 million people living underground.
XEvNj TIL the three Apollo 11 astronauts could not get life insurance for their historic space moon shot. To provide for their families in case of catastrophic failure, they autographed commemorative postcards, a friend had them postmarked the day of the launch and distributed to their families.
e0rRD TIL James Cameron was in the works on writing and directing a Spider-Man flick (starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Maggie Smith) in the mid 90s. The script was grittier than the later versions and included a full sex scene with Mary Jane on the Brooklyn Bridge.