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TIL In 2014, a rural Iraqi clock maker went to sleep, woke up, and watched a “nice Egyptian film” before realizing he was the last resident remaining after his town had been seized by ISIS. He convinced them he was not a soldier, showed them the Mosque’s light switch, and went back to his house.

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wLNr8 TIL about the phrase "If it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down". It tells you how to behave if attacked by a bear. Often "If it's white, say goodnight" is added, regarding the dangerousness of polar bears. Though apparently it depends on the situation, it can be used as a rule of thumb.
VMPrm TIL the Wedding March by Mendelssohn only gained popularity when it was selected by Victoria, Princess Royal (whose mother, Queen Victoria, loved his music) for her wedding to Prince Frederick William of Prussia
BrJAK TIL: That in the 1980s a group of scientist found that male Jewel beetles in Australia were mating with discarded beer bottles as they looked like very sexually attractive females; glossy, dimpled and brown. Afterwards, the beer company changed their bottle design.
yWEa TIL in 1945 a farmer chopped off a chicken’s head, missed the jugular vein, a clot formed and some of the brain stem survived, providing basic homeostasis functions. Mike the headless chicken toured in sideshows for 18 months and earned the farmer $4,500/ month at the peak of his popularity
VeyD TIL Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were drunk in the scene where Leia and Solo arrive at Cloud City in “The Empire Strikes Back” due to partying all night into the morning with the Rolling Stones and Eric Idle.