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TIL that Gene Wilder got into comedy and acting because of his mother's heart condition. His mother's doctor told him to 'Try to make her laugh,' to make her feel better, leading to his conscious efforts to make other people laugh.

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W7BG4 TIL Marco Polo's father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, preceded him in China and meeting Kublai Khan by several years. Because of this early voyage, Marco did not meet his father or uncle until he was fifteen years old.
5V9Pk TIL about the Swiss Guard's Last Stand. In 1527 Over 20k troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, rebelled after not being paid for months, marched on Rome and sacked the city, killing thousands. Fearing for his life, Pope Clement VII fled and 142 Swiss Guard held off the mob, none survived.
x6mmw TIL that a 17 year old girl was badly injured when her house was hit by an F4 tornado near Corry, PA, on 5/31/1985. The day before on May 30th, her twin sister had undergone a liver transplant following a severe seizure. Also on the 30th her 15 year old brother was involved in a motorcycle accident.
8e9BL TIL that the first Japanese person to be sent to space was Toyohiro Akiyama. Known as "The Space Antihero", Akiyama was not a trained astronaut, scientist nor engineer and spent his time in space craving cigarettes.
knBm TIL Frank Hayes was a jockey who, in 1923, suffered a fatal heart attack in the middle of a race in New York. His horse finished first with his lifeless body still atop, making him the first and thus far, only jockey to win a race after death.