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TIL The lyrics to Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” were completely improvised by Sledge on the recording. He improvised so well that his the session musicians assumed that he had pre-written lyrics.

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MenVK TIL The spike on the German Pickelhaube helmet was supposed to function as a blade tip, designed to deflect sword blows aimed at the head. The Pickelhaube offered almost no protection from bullets & shrapnel to German soldiers during WWI.
a8E5o TIL that elephants were once used as executioners in South and Southeast Asia. In India, rogue elephants were trained to carry out executions by crushing, dismembering, or torturing victims with their immense power.
R7vl7 TIL that American long-distance open-water swimmer Lynne Cox is known for being the first person to swim the 2.5 miles between the United States and the Soviet Union, via the Bering Strait. She was jointly congratulated by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan.
epOnD TIL that in Japan, condemned prisoners are only informed of their execution date one or two hours before it happens.
ADVvg TIL That a tomato is simultaneously considered a fruit and a vegetable according to Encyclopedia Brittanica.