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TIL about a man under the pseudonym "Kirk Allen" who became deluded that a sci-fi book series was actually the story of his life. He filled in the blanks with elaborate details and hallucinated himself in those settings. He was treated by Robert Lindner, who himself became obsessed with the books.

r8O1 TIL that in 1981, a Turkish man shot Pope John Paul II four times but didn’t kill him. After the Pope recovered, he visited the assassin in prison forgave him. The assassin was pardoned at the Pope’s request and 33 years after his crime, he visited Vatican City and laid flowers on the Pope’s tomb.
nWoYW TIL about Pokémon's Porygon episode which featured a series of rapidly alternating red and blue frames that provoked epileptic seizures in hundreds of children (685 viewers – 310 boys and 375 girls). As a result of the incident, the Pokémon anime went into a four-month hiatus.
kO7Pm TIL the line "Turn it up" at the beginning of Sweet Home Alabama wasn't supposed to be in the song -- just instructions to the sound engineer.
YBRx TIL E. Frenkel, a Russian Psychic claimed he could stop a train with his psychic powers. So, he stepped in front of a freight train. It didn’t work.
b9474 TIL I learned of Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who appeared on the TV show "The Dating Game", after he had already killed numerous people. He was said to have an IQ of 160, and interrogated himself on the witness stand during his trial, in Smeagol/Gollum fashion, switching voices and demeanor.