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TIL When the nazis burned books in 1933, one "burned" author was actually present in the crowd. Incognito, child book author and satirist Erich Kästner watched the fanatic nazi students toss his works into the flames. He had to leave when a woman recognized him and cried out his name.

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GYj8Q TIL Samurai’s would do the infamous haircut of shaving the top of their head and keep the back long otherwise known as “Chonmage” in order to keep them cool while fighting in the humid months but also to still keep their helmet secure on their head with the hair in the back.
78n4x TIL about the Memory of the World Programme: an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity. It includes, for example, the Gutenberg Bible, Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven, and humanity's first recordings of its own voice
P1EZg TIL Edmund Kemper helped a nonprofit called Volunteers of Vacaville in reading/recording books for blind people to listen to. He logged over 5000 hours between 1977-1987 but stopped in 2015 after a stroke.
VM9Vp TIL The poet Charles de Gaulle, uncle of the general/politician of the same name, was fluent in Breton, Welsh, and Gaelic. Additonally de Gaulle wrote extensive poetry in the languages, but never visited a Celtic-speaking country, as his poor health confined him to his apartment in Paris.
bvJQ TIL that after needing 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a record 1,000 times and saved 2,000,000 lives.