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TIL during the South Pacific WWII campaign, the Japanese constructed a heavily fortified stronghold with 110,000 troops at Rabaul near Papua New Guinea. The Allies chose to isolate Rabaul and press on, leaving the Japanese stranded and all its fortifications wasted.

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x6kr5 TIL about Gary DeVore, a screenwriter, who disappeared in 1997 while night driving from Santa Fe, NM to Santa Barbara, CA. A year after disappearing, Devore and his Ford Explorer were found in an aqueduct in Palmdale, CA. Devore's hands, script and gun were missing. His death remains a mystery.
rQed TIL Ulrich von Liechtenstein was a real man, and his autobiography depicts him as an undefeated jouster, competing for the hand of a noblewoman who demanded great deeds to even hold her hand.
EGDX TIL that in Hannibal the novel, Clarice and Dr. Lecter escape together and become lovers in Argentina. (And Hopkins liked the ending better)
YpGb7 TIL the NFL doesn't play on Friday and Saturday because the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act prohibits them from doing so to protect fans of college and high school football.
neWJb In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor woman with a middle-school education, made one of the greatest medical contributions ever. Her cells, taken from a cervical-cancer biopsy, became the first immortal human cell line—the cells reproduce infinitely in a lab. Although other immortal lines have since been established, Lacks's "HeLa" cells are the standard in labs around the world. Together they outweigh 100 Empire State Buildings and could circle the equator three times.