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TIL while researching for the film Castaway, screenwriter William Broyles Jr. chose to strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Gulf of California to force himself to search for water and food and obtain his own shelter.

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4oLw TIL that in 2009, the UK tried to prevent the indigenous population of the British Indian Ocean Territory from returning to their homelands by establishing a “marine reserve”, making it difficult for them to reclaim their land and re-settle. The documents later showed up on Wikileaks.
XEW7R TIL about the Space-out Competition, an annual event held in South Korea where contestants must stare off into space without doing anything or falling asleep. Who wins is based on audience votes and on who has the most stable pulse. The contest lasts 90 minutes.
awN7b TIL that in 1963, JFK sent a letter to congress in which he recommends the U.S participation in a campaign to preserve ancient monuments in the Nile Valley. The U.S contributed with $16m while the estimated cost for the campaign was $100m. Sadly JFK couldn't see the progress since he was assassined.
E9K0 TIL In a 2003 Harvard study, 47,000 men who ate 10 servings of tomatoes per week cut their risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer by 50 percent.
9Kxm TIL that despite creating the very rational and logical character of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a firm believer in the supernatural and his beliefs even cost him his friendship with the very skeptical Harry Houdini.