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TIL FDR was almost killed by a US warship in WWII. During a secret trans-Atlantic trip, he asked for ship demos. One accidentally fired a torpedo at FDR's ship (which moved fast enough to avoid the hit). Afterward, the destroyer was routinely greeted with the hail "Don't shoot! We're Republicans!"

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5YEeP TIL that Saturn has a moon that bears a striking resemblance to the Death Star from Star Wars. This moon, Mimas, wasn't observed in detail until the Voyager spacecraft captured photos in 1980, three years after the release of the first Star Wars movie.
Mer8m TIL After not raising enough to fund the project, the Beatles' George Harrison put in 3 million of his own money to fund Monty Python's Life Of Brian, basically because he wanted to see the movie. It was later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket" .
7rgxP TIL on the night of September 10, 2001 Michael Jackson performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The next morning he was scheduled to attend a meeting at the World Trade Center but overslept, missing the meeting and avoiding the attack on the towers.
Lk9xd TIL Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States, served all but six weeks of his term without a Vice President. His VP, William King, died of Tuberculosis in Cuba only six weeks after the inauguration.
v17v8 TIL the egyptian fertility god min,whose symbol was the lettuce and the bull, was often depicted with an erect penis.Lettuce was considered an aphrodisiac among ancient egyptians.