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TIL of Dick Roth, a swimmer who was diagnosed with appendicitis shortly before the men’s 400m individual medley in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He refused an immediate operation and instead swam in the finals, winning a gold medal.

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d8rr8 TIL The Bee Gees were going to lip sync to a record in the local Gaumont cinema, but as they were running to the theatre, the fragile shellac 78-RPM record broke. The brothers had to sing live and received such a positive response from the audience that they decided to pursue a singing career.
v1a6x TIL the Teen Talk Barbie's quip "math class is tough" generated controversy among educators who feared it contributed to negative gender stereotypes. It also inspired The Simpsons episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy."
Z8vpp TIL Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe owned roughly one percent of all the money in Denmark, wore a nose made of gold after losing his own in a duel and had a pet moose that he sent out to attend parties in his place until it one night got so drunk that it fell down a flight of stairs and broke its neck
0wZNR TIL giant tortoises on whaling voyages were stored helplessly on their backs for up to six months before being killed and eaten. While alive, they drank gallons of water at a time and kept it in a special bladder, making a properly-butchered tortoise a source of cool, perfectly drinkable water.
E1810 TIL In 2004, a Disney employee who played Tigger was acquitted of charges of allegedly fondling a 13-year-old girl in costume, when his defence attorney tried on the costume in court and demonstrated how hard it was to move the costumes oversized glove hands.