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TIL that Geoffrey Tandy, a marine biologist who specialised in cryptogams (algae, moss, etc.), was recruited to a secret British codebreaking organization during WWII because the Ministry of Defence confused “cryptogamist” with “cryptogramist.” Tandy ended up helping to crack the Enigma code anyway.

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x6J4w TIL that “Big in Japan” was written by Alphaville’s lead singer about two of his junkie friends. "That line has a certain meaning…. 'I'm not a loser because in Japan I'm really big.' It's the lie of the loser and it fit perfectly into the story of these junkies, in a very tragic way…”
7ENb TIL that Will Smith refused to play the role of Mohammed Ali for 8 years, fearing he wasn’t up for the job of playing the man he called the “greatest figure over the last 100 years”, stating “I absolutely, positively did not want to be the dude that messed up the Muhammad Ali story.”
oR99L TIL while composing his 1984 song "When Doves Cry", there was originally was a bass line in the song, but after a conversation with singer Jill Jones, Prince decided that the song was too conventional with it included and omitted the entire bass line.
l70aB TIL of Umarell, an Italian subculture of older men who spend their time watching roadworks and construction sites.
JjJ8 TIL that the world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, used his incredibly long arms (1.06m) to remove plastic from the stomachs of 2 dolphins, which ultimately saved their lives, after trainers tried numerous other methods.