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TIL Vietnam War POW Doug Hegdahl pretended to be illiterate to fool his captors, who believed him to be so stupid that they gave him almost free rein of the camp. He was able to secretly memorize the details of about 256 POWs to the tune of “Old MacDonald,” which he still remembers.

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OoZ66 TIL When The Empire Strikes Back debuted in 1980 some showings were preceded by the short film Black Angel which was directed by Star Wars art director Roger Christian. The film was thought lost for decades but has since been recovered and is available on YouTube.
nW9B9 TIL In 1981 when Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president of US he asked the chief of staff to show him the war room of Pentagon because he thought what the movie Dr. Strangelove depicted was real
m14oY TIL that Jean-Bedel Bokassa (self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire) had 100 students executed for protesting their school uniforms. Later, he was not tried for cannibalism despite the testimony of his chef since amnesty was declared for this and other misdemeanors.
a8nMM TIL that "Ding Dong School," the first U.S. preschool TV show, was canceled when its star refused to let the network broadcast ads for BB guns.
gME0y TIL during the Punic Wars, the Romans realized they had no clue how to build ships. They decided to rent row boats, run aground a Carthaginian ship, and plagiarize the designs. The entire first fleet of their new Navy was based off this ship, but learning to row proved more challenging.