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TIL Allied tanks were mired in the hedgerows of the French countryside. An American Sgt. came up with the idea to deconstruct Nazi anti-tank "hedgehogs" and re-weld them into crude brush cutters, mounted to the front of Sherman tanks. It was hugely successful and allowed Allied forces to break out.

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wLDaE TIL Shel Silverstein, acclaimed children's author of notable books such as The Giving Tree, also wrote award winning scores and lyrics; including winning a Grammy for A Boy Named Sue popularized by Johnny Cash
BgwDx TIL that John Quincy Adams won the 1824 US Presidential Election despite only winning 32.7% of the Electoral College vote
Z8elY TIL: Like all male Swiss citizens, Roger Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, he was ruled "unsuitable" due to an unspecified injury. Instead he served in the civil protection force & was required to pay 3% of his taxable income as an alternative.
X0PYP TIL that poet and cartoonist Shel Silverstein (A Light in the Attic, The Giving Tree) was also a frequent writer and illustrator for Playboy. His biographer believes he had sex with hundreds or thousands of women over the course of many visits to the Playboy mansion.
PYQMO TIL the birth rate in the U.S. in 2018 fell to the lowest level in 32 years. For perspective, this was lower than in the years after the Great Depression.