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TIL commanders in the Hitlerbunker would cold-call Berlin numbers to keep track of the Soviet advance. They were eventually doomed when a Russian picked up the phone and said "Ivan is here".

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mELM TIL - Jake LaMotta, the real life boxer portrayed in Raging Bull, who’s boxing style was to take punches to the head until his opponent was tired, is still alive and well at age 93.
bJAE TIL Almon Strowger was so pissed off at a telephone operator that he invented the first step switch, the step switch eliminated the need for switchboard operators.
9w0jD TIL Mario debuted as the nameless player character in Donkey Kong (1981) before Mario Bros. (1983), called as "Jumpman", " Rescueman" or "Mr.Video". His name, "Mario," was introduced in Donkey Kong Jr. (1982). He was once called "Mario Mario" to align with the title Mario Bros in a 1993 movie.
5YZdP TIL Muhammad Ali has been considered by some to be the first rapper. He released a spoken word album that was nominated for a Grammy in 1963, was influential on early hip hop, had an ESPN documentary called "Ali Rap", and influenced LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Eminem, Sean Combs, Slick Rick, Nas, and more.
oBZ98 TIL a teletubby toy was recalled in the late 90s for calling kids "faggot" and telling them to "bite my butt"