› added 11 months ago

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TIL that the leading pioneer of Japanese rocket science, Hideo Itokawa, was nicknamed "Dr. Rocket"

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D1x5P TIL that when an Indian Captain was badly wounded in WW2 Burma and thought to be on his deathbed, he was quickly awarded a Military Cross because at the time it couldn't be given posthumously. He survived and became the first Indian to be promoted to Field Marshal.
awx7A TIL That the creator of Madame Tussauds, Marie Tussaud, was in jail during the French Revolution, awaiting execution by guillotine. She got out under 1 condition: She had to create wax sculptures of the recently guillotined heads of her former employers at Versailles, where she was an art teacher.
6eRW TIL that while filming “The Passion of the Christ” Jim Caviezel, the actor that played Jesus, was struck by lightning along with the assistant director, who was struck twice
yWyJ TIL Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, during his trial when accused of murdering three and a half million people, replied, “No. Only two and one half million—the rest died from disease and starvation.”
N7RGP TIL about the "Curse of the 9th." Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, & Dvorak died after writing their 9th symphony, so Mahler believed the 9th symphony was destined to be a his last. Although afraid to write his 9th, he eventually did & died before being able to complete his 10th fulfilling the curse.