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TIL that the old man on the cross in the music video for “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana had bowel cancer during filming and at one point his stomach burst open, leading to him being taken off set in an ambulance. The band members and the director then sat in silence for an hour.

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xV9l1 TIL the FBI supplied 48 police agencies with Stingray surveillance hardware that mimics cell phone towers, and had them sign non-disclosure agreements to stop them confirming their use of it or its capabilities to anyone, including courts of law. Cases would be dismissed rather than expose the tech.
KOgjQ TIL that a legal fight between the heirs of John Steinbeck prevented Steven Spielberg from directing a re-make of "The Grapes of Wrath" starring Daniel Day-Lewis
epwPD TIL William Stoughton, the chief judge of the Salem Witch Trials, sentenced 19 men and women to death during the trials despite not having any training, or education, in law.
yQXMp TIL that scientists discovered a cannibalistic ant colony composed entirely of worker ants in a abandoned Soviet Bunker in Poland. They had fallen down ventilation pipes leading into the bunker and reverted to cannibalism to survive. The scientists built a bridge that allowed most of them to escape.
9wA4G TIL that Eric Schmitt of Missouri is the 2000th senator to ever serve in the United States Senate. The next Senator to be sworn in will be the 2003rd Senator since the inception of the Upper house of the US congress.