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TIL of "Sputnikfest" an annual celebration held in the city of Manitowoc, WI where people dress up as aliens and science fiction characters to commemorate a 20lb piece of a Russian satellite crashing down in the city back in 1962

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via reddit.com

Zbga TIL After a Polish impostor who claimed the throne of Russia was found out. He was executed, burned, and had his ashes shot out of a cannon back towards Poland.
EVex TIL that during war, firing upon parachutists emerging from an aircraft in distress is considered by most militaries around the world to be inhumane, barbaric, and unchivalrous, that it is unnecessary, that it is contrary to fair play, and that military pilots have to be held to a higher standard.
WWZ4 TIL that Otto Skorzeny, a Nazi commando during WWII, was tried for war crimes for having worn Allied uniforms to conduct missions behind the lines. He was acquitted after British commandos testified that they did the same during the war and convicting him would have meant an indictment against them.
44YX TIL Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson were going to make a collaborative album but Freddie quit because Jackson demanded his pet llama come into the studio with him.
d8xlr TIL About the 19th century female sculptor Camille Claudel. Regarded as a genius in her time, she was hated by her mother and her brother for her artistic lifestyle. They had her committed to different asylums for the last 30 years of her life, and took all her money. She was buried with the poor.