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TIL that the inhabitants of islands that were temporarily occupied during the Pacific War thought they were being visited by gods, and when the soldiers eventually left, they formed rituals that imitate planes, runways, and marches to try to bring them back. Many still do this to this day.

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awJZA TIL Curious George was written by a Jewish couple who escaped Paris in 1940 on self-made bicycles
AN7nl TIL of the Boy Scout Nuclear Science Merit Badge. The requirements to receive the badge include building a Geiger counter, planting irradiated and nonirradiated seeds, and visiting an accelerator (research lab) or university where people study the properties of the nucleus or nucleons.
Me4Gb TIL Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman" speech never contained that phrase. Truth was raised speaking Dutch in New York. Instead, a white woman retranscribed it 15 years later, embellishing her language to sound more like Southern slaves.
mxZ5O TIL that during Russia's Stalin era, praise for the quality of any aspect of U.S. life prompted the response: "Yes, but they lynch Blacks, don't they?"
DQvMp TIL: A Diagonal Crease on the Earlobe Could Indicate an Increased Risk of Heart Disease, Known as Frank's Sign.