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TIL The creator of The Sims, Will Wright, was inspired to make the game after losing his home and most of his material possessions in a fire in 1997. Thinking about the value of material needs as he rebuilt his life gave him the idea of a game where players managed the life of a suburban household.

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nWrPB TIL astronomers actually use lasers to project fake stars into the atmosphere, in order to measure & compensate for atmospheric distortions, allowing them a much clearer image of real stars.
dDmVj TIL There is a mosque in Birmingham, England, built in 1988, that was originally named the President Saddam Hussein Mosque. Saddam Hussein had donated £2 million for its construction. In 2003, it was renamed the Jame Masjid Mosque in response to growing anti-Muslim sentiment after the 9/11 attacks.
Lmep TIL at the Sanjusangendo Temple in Japan there is an annual competition to fire as many arrows through the temple as possible in 24 hours. The arrows can’t hit the floor, walls or the ceiling. The current record is 8133 successful shots out of 13,053 shots, set in 1686.
PYlgV TIL that Leslie David Baker, who played Stanley Hudson on the Office, was a teacher for special needs children before he was an actor.
Mer5W TIL that when a man from Fort Benton, Montana died in 1936, his body was taken east by train to be buried by his family. His dog, Shep, waited at the station and greeted every incoming train for six years, expecting his master to return on board one day. Shep was hit and killed by a train in 1942.