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TIL in the 1988 box-office bomb "Mac and Me", the wheelchair-bound lead child character was played by a real wheelchair-bound actor with spina bifida. In real life, when people asked why he was in a wheelchair, the 12-year-old would reply, "Vietnam."

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KOdGJ TiL Blood donors in Sweden get a text message whenever their blood saves someone's life. With blood donation rates in decline all over the developed world, Sweden's blood service is enlisting new technology to help push back against shortages.
gM607 TIL that if it were not for the vacuum in space, the roaring of the sun - which would equate to roughly 100 decibels (the equivalent to a chainsaw's volume in close proximity) - would leave all us Earthlings deaf within the course of a day.
WkvgA TIL that one hotel owner's refusal to serve another's daughter fried chicken led to the second man building a rival hotel in right next door. Locals referred to it as the 'Fried Chicken War'
mA4v TIL of Flying ace Erich Hartmann. Destroyed 352 enemy planes. Crashed 14 times due to mechanical or debris damage from planes he killed. Never once shot down.
97jM TIL California almonds suck as much water annually as Los Angeles uses in three years