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TIL that when American soldiers came to the house of Richard Strauss in 1945, the famous German composer identified himself: “I am Richard Strauss, the composer of Rosenkavalier and Salome.” One of the soldiers was a musician, and placed a sign at the home so others would not bother him.

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ajyA TIL when the Portuguese introduced chili peppers to Japan in the 16th century, rather than being eaten they were commonly put into socks to keep toes warm.
x6lo7 TIL Alan Pinkerton fled to America for being associated with workers rights groups in Scotland. He aided John Brown, opposed slavery, and protected Lincoln from assassination plots. However, The Pinkertons would become most infamous for their violence and subterfuge of striking workers.
4XwGg TIL Hermann Göring's brother strongly opposed the Nazi party, and forged his brother's signature so people could leave the country. Once, he joined Jews who had to scrub the streets, so the SS officer stopped the activity in order not to humiliate Hermann Göring.
ROBw TIL that before the late 17th century, humans’ sleep cycle was divided into two periods. The first sleep usually began at dusk, lasted four hours, and was followed by an hour or so of being awake. Then we had a second sleep, lasting another four hours.
gr9OX TIL in the 1980’s a Japanese humanitarian doctor in Afghanistan named Tetsu Nakamura who initiated the digging of the Pearl Canal which connects to the Kumar River. The canal supplied fresh water to over 600,000 people.