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TIL that a boy in the UK was born with only 2% of his brain. His parents were told he would live in a vegetative state, if at all; they had even prepared his funeral before he was born. By age 3, the boy's brain had grown to 80% the normal size. Now 9, he can read and do math.

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P86w TIL that The Shawshank Redemption’s director and writer, Frank Darabont, was offered $2.5 million from Rob Reiner to let him write and direct it instead, and cast Tom Cruise as Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. Darabont refused, saying that this was his “chance to do something really great.”
yVeVe TIL director Brad Bird was inspired to make the movie "The Iron Giant" after his sister Susan was murdered by her husband, who shot her. His pitch was "What if a gun had a soul, and didn't want to be a gun?
6EWeQ TIL Andorra has no army. Instead, all Andorrans should, by law, keep a rifle. The law also states that the police will offer a firearm in case of need.
lokW7 TIL that there is actually an “Old Zealand” that New Zealand is named for: It was the Dutch Maritime Province of Zeeland, located near modern Belgium.
p8DNG TIL There were only two groups in Sparta that could have their names inscribed in their tombstones: mothers who died giving life and soldiers who fell in battle.