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TIL there was Chinese general who defended a town against 150,000 soldiers with only a lute and his reputation for being clever. He opened the gates and sat on the town wall playing the lute. The opposing general thought it was a trap and retreated.

oB898 TIL that “The Emperor’s New Groove” initially started out as an epic animated musical set during the Inca empire titled “Kingdom of the Sun” with songs written by Sting. However the project was completely redone after studio executives wanted it to be more funny and less serious.
LQQJp TIL the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) was founded under the principles of 'Muscular Christianity,' a Christian philosophy that ties physical strength and development with Christian spiritual growth. The creation of the modern Olympic Games was also influenced by this philosophy.
6ENPw TIL that Norman Greenbaum, artist of Spirit In The Sky, is actually Jewish. He was watching TV one night when he came across a country gospel star, thought it looked easy, and wrote his one hit wonder in 15 minutes. This Jewish artist’s song about Jesus sold 2 million copies in a year.
kxkE TIL “99 Problems” was originally an Ice-T song from his album Home Invasion, released in 1993.
N75lP TIL that Shiro Ishii, a Japanese general who oversaw Unit 731 and thousands of horrific war crimes during WWII, was given immunity in exchange for human experimentation data. He also may have gone on to do bio-weapons research at Fort Detrick located in Frederick, Maryland.