› added 3 months ago

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TIL the U.S. military stopped producing new M1911 pistols in 1945 but continued using refurbished models for over 40 years, officially replacing them with the Beretta M9 in 1985 - though some special forces continued to carry them well into the 21st century.

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GKJN TIL that in 1968 Olympics, Kip “Kieno” was late for the 1500m final, because he was stuck in traffic. He ran 2 miles to make it to the event on time, and still won the gold. He was also suffering from Gallstones.
1aYJV TIL star of the silent screen, Lon Chaney, was born to deaf-mute parents. As a result, he became skilled in pantomime as a child, setting him on the path to his future acting career.
RJ58 TIL Hunter S. Thompson pranked Jack Nicholson on his birthday by shining a spotlight on his house, blasting a recording of a pig being eaten alive by bears, firing his pistol, and leaving an elk’s heart at the front door, while Nicholson and his two daughters hid in the basement.
loMEB TIL an actor in the 80s during a delay on the set took a gun loaded with blanks and after saying ”Can you believe this crap?” put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger as a joke, accidentally killing himself. A blank can kill you when shot at close range.
kO1dg TIL that in 1939, George Dantzig, arrived late for class and assumed that the two problems written on the board was a homework assignment. When turning it in, he apologized for taking long to finish; it turned out that he had solved two estwhile unsolved / unproved problems in statistics.