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TIL that diarrhea was one of the most common causes of death in the American Civil War and that soldiers had an unwritten code of honor against shooting someone who was pooping.

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gEb TIL Butterflies can remember things they learn as caterpillars
RvAw TIL the largest anti-smoking ad campaign “Truth” is funded by the tobacco companies as part of a settlement to be exempted from individual lawsuits stemming from harm caused by tobacco.
4XG4a TIL comic Andy Kaufman's 4-F deferment for the draft concluded that Kaufman lived in a fantasy world, disconnected from reality, and if put in the military would "lose his mind". He loved the letter and proudly displayed it as he had purposely treated his psych eval as a high-stakes joke.
XEodk TIL For years an elderly Brazilian woman prayed to what she thought was a figurine of St. Anthony until she found out it was actually a figure of Elrond from Lord of the Rings
YwMr TIL Stephen King gave a rave review of the film “The Evil Dead”, which helped convince New Line Cinema to serve as its distributor. King called it “most ferociously original film of the year,” which attracted the interest of critics who otherwise would likely have dismissed the low-budget thriller.