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TIL that the most recent of Wayne Gretzky's 60 NHL records was set some time after his 1999 retirement. He averaged 1.921 points per game, which was second only to Mario Lemieux (2.005). Lemieux later came out of retirement and lowered his own average, moving Gretzky to the number one spot.

QJ09L TIL a farmer named Tony Dighera developed a plastic mold to put over his pumpkins so that they grow into the face of Frankenstein. Known as "Pumpkinsteins", it took him 4 years, 27 varieties of pumpkin and $400,000 to perfect his idea.
mjRo TIL to avoid boredom while in a POW camp during the Korean War, Lt. John Thornton would ride an imaginary motorcycle around. He did this every day until the guards called him to their headquarters and took away his imaginary motorcycle stating that it was against rules and regulations.
Q8Xk TIL that the Lord of the Rings novels were written as if they were translated to English, and the actual common tongue of the books is called Westron.
lobX5 TIL that few months after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The holiest place for Muslims Masjid-al-Haram (Kaabah) was seized by insurgents (and their leader claiming he is the "Mahdi"). After 14 days of fighting and negotiations with Saudi clerics, the Saudi army finally gained control.
9OdM TIL prohibition made it a crime to produce, sell, or transport alcoholic beverages, but anyone who already had bottles of old liquor stocked away was free to consume them, so many rich people stockpiled reserves before the law passed