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TIL of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, aka “The Gates of Hell”, a place so inhospitable that when the MV Dunedin went aground in 1942, passengers were only rescued after another ship ran aground, a big aircraft was damaged on landing, was repaired and crashed again, and several army trucks were lost.

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OonnL TIL World War I was the first war in which mass media and propaganda played a significant role. It was one the keys in convincing people to fight in the war. At the start of the war the British cut Germany’s undersea cables to influence the reporting of the war to the world.
BnMD TIL after writing ‘The Show Must Go On’, Brian May said to Freddie Mercury “Fred, I don’t know if this is going to be possible to sing”, due his illness at the time. In response, Mercury took a shot of vodka and said “I’ll fucking do it, darling!” and recorded the song in one take.
xJWo TIL In Scrubs, Ted’s (played by Sam Lloyd) band ‘The Worthless Peons’ is Sam Lloyd’s actual a capella band 'The Blanks’ which he formed in college.
Rw16 TIL In 1844, in a case of mass hysteria, a convent of nuns began “meowing” together everyday for several hours. Eventually the neighbours complained and soldiers threatened to whip the nuns until they stopped meowing.
wL1G6 TIL pole dancing became more common during the Great Depression since traveling performers would dance in tents at this time. Eventually, these performers began to incorporate the tent pole into their striptease routines.