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TIL that in 1946, a man claiming to be a detective gave a pedestrian a camera and asked her to take a picture of a suspect. The “detective” turned out to be a gangster, the “suspect” turned out to be his ex-wife, and the “camera” turned out to be a concealed shotgun firing via the shutter button.

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b9oma TIL of Bass Reeves, the first black U.S. Deputy Marshall west of the Mississippi, who is credited with capturing over 3,000 outlaws, including his own son. He is also rumored to be the inspiration for the Lone Ranger.
mx6bY TIL that two movies came out in the middle of 1990 based on the life of Henry Hill. “My Blue Heaven” was written by Nora Ephron. “Goodfellas” was written by Nicholas Pileggi. Ephron and Pileggi were married at the time.
pYBn8 TIL That actress Whoopi Goldberg took her stage name from a whoopi cushion, because she used to fart on stage a lot
loB5N TIL that Mark Taimanov, a Russian chess Grandmaster, after losing 6-0 to Bobby Fischer in 1971's World Chess Championship Candidates quarterfinal, got his salary and his ability to leave the country taken away, aswell as being censored in the press because the Russian government was so embarrassed.
GY4Q7 TIL about “War Babies” a very odd short film from 1934 that featured a bunch of toddlers in diapers acting out creepily grown-up plots. Shirley Temple does stuff like trade kisses for lollipops and says things like “I’m expensive.” Video is in the link.