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TIL Director Oliver Stone enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war and requested combat duty. He participated in more than 25 helicopter combat assaults. He was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” device for his heroism in ground combat, as well as a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf cluster.

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x6oQB TIL: Mavis Beacon is a fictional character named after the singer Mavis Staples
4XBl6 TIL that when considering what to name Idaho, a man named George M. Willing suggested Idaho claiming it was an indigenous word meaning "Gem of the Mountains". The name stuck. Afterwards it came out that it wasn't an indigenous word and Willing made it up.
d9dZ TIL that the Mongols pulled their bowstrings back with their thumb. To prevent damage to their thumbs they created thumb rings.
b6mP7 TIL a depressed man built a secret room within his bedroom containing a homemade guillotine with a timer, took sleeping pills, and set the timer to kill himself without his father knowing what he was doing for months. He was successful.
Aydg TIL Morse Code letter lengths correspond to the letter’s usage in Morristown, NJ’s newspaper in 1837.