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TIL Gino Bartali was a multiple pre WW2 Grand Tour winner and almost gave up cycling after his brother died whilst racing. During the war he used his fame and prestige to aid Jewish families elude capture. The BBC attributes him as saying "Some medals are made to hang on the soul, not the jacket."

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e0Y1b TIL that popcorn, being relatively inexpensive, became popular during the Great Depression. It became a source of income for many struggling farmers, including the Redenbacher family. In fact, when sugar was rationed during WWII, Americans ate three times as much popcorn as they had before.
nex1W TIL that California generates so much solar energy that it has to pay other states to take the excess so their power lines don't overload.
D10lY TIL that Denis Vrain-Lucas made hundreds of thousands of francs by forging letters written by historical figures. It took fifteen years for him to be caught, even though his letters (many supposedly by ancient Romans or Biblical figures) were all in modern French, and written on watermarked paper.
Oo1NX TIL that the Soviet Union was issued a top-level internet domain just before its 1991 collapse. The domain was never deactivated and has since become a haven for cybercriminals due to its lack of regulation.
QJ9YX TIL that when a cruise ship started sinking in 1991, her captain abandoned ship without helping the passengers. In the end, the ships entertainers organized the evacuation. The captain even contacted them from shore and asked them how it was going.