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TIL In 1939, Władysław Szpilman, known from “The Pianist”, was in the middle of performing a Chopin piece when German fire on Polish Radio’s studio forced him to stop playing. This was Poland’s last live music broadcast until 1945, when he opened the first broadcast by picking up where he left off.

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EgW17 TIL Alexander the Great had a Hindu Guru who accompanied his army on their return to Persia. After he died via self immolation the army held a drinking contest in his honor, resulting in 42 people dying from alcohol poisoning, including the winner, who drank 13 litres of unmixed wine
gMjgW TIL in 1954, when the Swanson TV dinner was first sold in retail outlets, it was controversial: men wrote to the company complaining that they preferred their wives cook from scratch like their mothers did as opposed to the "just heat and serve" meal.
0EKM TIL that a California man committed a murder during a robbery and got away with it for four years. He had a tattoo artist recreate the crime scene in a detailed tattoo on his chest. When he was later caught, investigating detectives described the tattoo as a “crime scene sketch and a confession.”
5YxK9 TIL that Benjamin Franklin's many inventions include the flexible urinary catheter, odometer and swimming fins. He never got parents and wrote, “we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
e0MOE TIL that Kim Philby, head of the MI6 anti-communist section, was forced to resign over allegations that he helped two KGB moles escape. However, he was exonerated by the government. He then defected to the Soviet Union after having been KGB double agent for 30 years.