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TIL if a member of the French Foreign Legion is wounded in battle, they can immediately apply for French citizenship under a provision known as, "Français par le sang versé" ("French by spilled blood").

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nWaRP TIL of Juan Pujol García, a Spanish spy from WWII. After the British Army turned him down, he joined the Nazis, and became a double agent, working for the British. Juan is now one of the few people who have received both an MBE from King George and an Iron Cross from Hitler.
aWyJ TIL Italy’s Credem Bank takes parmesan cheese from local producers in exchange for cheap loans (charging 3-5% interest, depending on quality) & a fee ensuring the cheese matures properly (2yrs) in the bank vault (cheese is sold if the loan defaults). 430,000 parmesan wheels ($200M+) are stored there
JBP4 TIL Hugo Jaeger, Hitler’s personal photographer and loyal follower, hid away his color photograph to avoid prosecution, then sold them to Life Magazine for a profit in 1955.
yQdav TIL About John List, who killed his entire family in 1971. The murders were so precisely planned, it took a month for anyone to notice. He was caught in 1989, after a forensic artist created a lifelike bust of him, analysing Lists’ personality to get it right, and it was on America’s Most Wanted.
7n9x TIL Kevin Spacey was originally slated to play the president in Independence Day. Studio executives insisted the part be rewritten for Bill Pullman because they felt Spacey was incapable of starring in blockbusters. He won his first academy award 10 months later.