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TIL in 1939, Major League pitcher, Bob Feller, tested the speed of his pitches by throwing them against a racing motorcycle before radar guns were invented.

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1agv8 TIL of US Army master sergeant Roy Benavidez. During the Vietnam War, he fought 1000 NVA soldiers for 6 hours with only a knife while saving the lives of his comrades. He was so badly injured he was presumed dead and when a doctor was about to zip his body bag, he spat in the doctor's face.
6Ekx8 TIL the origins and etymology of the name "Samantha" are uncertain. It first appeared on record in the 17th century, but was was very rare until it became popular through a novel in the 19th century. It fell out of use again until "Bewitched" aired in 1964, which made it popular once more
9YlLB TIL that Michael Connor Humphreys, who played Forest Gump as teenager, was initially supposed to learn how to talk like Tom Hanks. Hearing this, Hanks sat down with Humphreys and decided that he would talk in Humphreys Mississippi accent instead. He still has tapes of him and Humphreys practicing.
Ldy9 TIL: In the 1900’s, the U.S. Navy became suspicious of homosexual activity in their sailors. They hired gay “decoys” to flirt with and find the homosexual seaman on board. However, the decoys became so popular that the Navy eventually just decided to stop..
G667 TIL when American troops were asking ‘American’ trivial questions to flush out German infiltrators in WWII, that American brigadier general Bruce Clarke was held at gunpoint for five hours after he said the Chicago Cubs were in the American League