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TIL that George C. Scott refused the Academy Award for his portrayal of George Patton on philosophical grounds. His reasoning was that dramatic performances were so unique that to compare them to each other was impossible.

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Lk19r TIL a white man, after attempting to lynch a black woman by breaking into her home and setting it on fire, was lynched in retaliation by a mob from the woman's home town
Wky0N TIL a small lake in Africa killed 1,700 villagers and 3,500 livestock overnight when it suddenly released 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide, suffocating everything within 16 miles. Scientists still don't know what triggered the event.
9YWJM TIL that in 1926 President Coolidge and his wife were gifted a raccoon as a Thanksgiving dinner gift. They did not want to eat her, so they named Rebecca and kept her as a pet. She had free range of The White House and would go on trips with the couple.
Ryvw TIL that during World War II in Australia, there was a dog whose hearing was so acute that it could warn airforce personnel of incoming Japanese planes 20 minutes before they arrived, and before they showed up on radar. “Gunner” could also differentiate the sounds of allied and enemy aircraft.
Y715A TIL that the original Bambi novel was actually an allegory about antisemitism