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TIL 14-year old Laurence Fishburne lied about his age to play a 17 year old soldier in Apocalypse Now. Filming took so long that Fishburne was actually 17 years old when shooting wrapped.

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ZW8Y TIL that tonsils are strategically placed near the airway in order to “catch” incoming bacteria and viruses. They often become infected as their main purpose is to sample these bodies and build up an immunity so the much more vulnerable lungs are able to fight off infection.
grdk4 TIL In the 18th century, there was a practice in England known as "wife-selling." This unusual custom involved a man publicly auctioning off his wife to the highest bidder, often in a marketplace or a tavern. It was sometimes seen as a humorous way to escape an unhappy marriage.
DQBmV TIL a man named Muhammad al-Qahtani claimed to be the Mahdi (a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology) and formed a cult following that besieged and took over Al-Haram, the holiest Islamic site, in the city of Mecca for more than two weeks, and had left 255 pilgrims killed and hundreds injured
KYvDw TIL about the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral, where Ilario "Mario" Fabbrini ceremonially disposed of 29,188 frozen cheese-and-mushroom pizzas. He had been ordered to recall the pizzas by the FDA after tests suggested the presence of botulism in some canned mushrooms he used on the pizzas.
EMKw TIL The SR-71 had an armed version called the F-12, which carried three Falcon missiles that were capable of mach 4. The aircraft was actually tested and shot down a bomber from nearly 74,000 feet. It was cancelled when Robert McNamara refused to release its funding, and instead spent it on Vietnam.