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TIL of Anthony Babington's recovery from brain damage. He was so badly wounded in WW2 that his girlfriend left him; he could not talk and was paralyzed on his right side. Babington learned to speak and write again, became a lawyer and judge, and wrote many books.

XEMMX TIL that Natalie Portman is a published researcher in Psychology. Her first scientific paper was co-authored while still in high school. It was entered into the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search and made it all the way to the semi-finals.
lovE7 TIL Spallanzani, an Italian Catholic priest and biologist was one of the first to disprove abiogenesis (life from non-life) by using tight fitted pants on male frogs which lead to failure to copulate and thus failure to reproduce.
8l5X TIL: Writer/Director Bob Clark refused to make a sequel to Porky’s unless the studio agreed to let him make a vanity project “A Christmas Story” with a budget of only $4,000,000.
d8eb9 TIL about the International Fixed Calendar. It is comprised of 13 months of 28 days each (364) + 1 extra day that doesn't belong to any week. it is a perennial calendar and every date falls on the same day every year. It was never adopted by any country but the Kodak company used it from 1928-1989.
j0vQ TIL in 1973, Johnny Carson made a joke during his opening monologue of The Tonight Show about an upcoming toilet paper shortage. Although meant to be a joke, the announcement caused a nation-wide panic that created an actual toilet paper shortage.