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TIL that Viggo Mortensen took on the role of Aragorn in LOTR because of his 11-year-old son's love for the books. He insisted on performing his own stunts and using a real steel sword. Additionally, he purchased and bonded with the two horses he rode during the filming.

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GbBJ TIL - in 1968, Billy Joel looped some random cables around his shoulder, put on a fake Bristish accent, and pretended to be Jimi Hendrix’s roadie to sneak into a concert. He wound up being convincing enough to actually be put to work as a stagehand during the show.
e4Ng TIL that meditating is potentially one of the most powerful ways to stall the onset of / prevent Alzheimers disease. [Xpost r/meditation, edited slightly.]
P1eAw TIL that the Beach Boys' song "Never Learn Not to Love" started as a demo written for the band by Charles Manson titled "Cease To Exist". Manson was not credited as a songwriter due to the fact that he "exchanged his official writing credit for a sum of cash and a motorcycle".
epRJk TIL between 28 October 1918 and 9 November 1918, Germany was a parliamentary monarchy. The Chancellor was no longer reliant on the Emperor's confidence, but rather on the parliament, the Reichstag. The consent of the Reichstag was also needed to declare war and conclude peace, not just the Emperor's
Y7MQW TIL that “under the weather,” meaning, feeling ill, is from sailors. On the high seas when the wind blow hard and rough water crewmen would go below deck and down to their cabins in order to ride out the storm to avoid seasickness. They literally retreat to a location “under the weather"