› added 9 years ago

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TIL that during Operation Shingle (a battle in Italy during World War 2) Eric Fletcher Waters was shot and killed, leaving behind his son in England. This kid’s name was Rodger Waters, the bassist and main lyricist for Pink Floyd. The death of his father was the inspiration for the album The Wall.

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5YRmp TIL that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was part of the Navy codebreaking team that, in 1943, fatally targeted the flight of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. In 1932, Stevens witnessed Babe Ruth's called-shot home run in the Yankees-Cubs World Series.
ddMd TIL in India there is a statue of Jesus where water was mysteriously dripping from its toes. Worshipers would collect and sometimes drink the ‘holy water’. A man traced the source of the water to a clogged toilet behind the wall condensing on the statue. He had to flee the country as a result.
6E5pY TIL about a shortage of dwarf actors to play the Oompa Loompas in 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', as the Nazis had killed most of the dwarves during WW2.
YNbA TIL in the United States, people who turn 100 years old receive a letter from the President, congratulating them on their longevity.
XErl8 TIL Sweden has a forest of oak trees planted 200 years ago because their Navy at the time needed them for ships