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TIL of Mathias Schenk, an 18 year old Belgian who was drafted to the German army in 1944 as a Sturmpionier (assault engineer) under threats of sending his father to the eastern front. He survived 19 knife fights and after the war travelled to Poland 32 times bringing food, clothes and diapers.

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R7Ba4 TIL Champollion (guy who deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphics) was instructed not to reveal findings contradicting teachings of the Catholic Church. He dated the Tomb of Menofre to the fifth dynasty, pre-dating Noah's flood. According to the Church it could not exist. He took the secret to his grave.
4X166 TIL the first verified Meteorite of Martian origin contains the mineral Shergottite, named after a village in India. McSween & Stolper proposed its martian origin in the 1970s , were first ridiculed and later acclaimed when the origin had been confirmed.
ypNV TIL Astronauts on Skylab 4 staged a mutiny after feeling that they were being worked and pushed too hard. They reportedly spent their day off relaxing and taking in the panoramic views of Earth from orbit.
E1w4d TIL that Mike Patton lead singer of the band Faith No More was the voice for all the screams and howls of the infected in the Will Smith movie I Am Legend
9Yd57 TIL Thomas Jefferson had a Shetland sheep that he kept on the White House lawn described as "this abominable animal". It would attack people who took shortcuts across the lawn, injuring a few people and killing a small boy.