› added 11 years ago

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TIL Singapore is the only country in the history of the modern world to gain independence against its own will.

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gr97A TIL that Loma Linda, CA is one of the five "Blue Zones", or areas in which people tend to live to 100 years old. This is generally believed to be because many of the residents are Seventh Day Adventists, who eat mostly plant based diets, get a lot of exercise, and drink mostly water.
EgyxP TIL of Jean-Claude Touche, an up-and-coming French composer in the 1940's. He was fatally wounded at the age of 18 on August 25, 1944, the final day of the Liberation of Paris, while trying to move a wounded person to safety.
0wXJ5 TIL Medal of Honor recipient Edward Carter could speak five languages, fought in his first war at 15, and joined the the Spanish Civil War to fight fascists at 20 before eventually fighting in WW2. Despite his heroism in combat, he and all other black awardees would not be recognized until 1997.
MeX50 TIL that when Parker pens entered the Mexican market, their slogan of ‘‘It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you’’ was mistranslated and so the ad read: “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”
MNbm TIL The lyrics to Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” were completely improvised by Sledge on the recording. He improvised so well that his the session musicians assumed that he had pre-written lyrics.