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TIL of the "Wolfram Crisis" - a WW2 diplomatic conflict between Spain and Allied powers - starving Nazi military industrial complex of tungsten was so important, UK and USA had to forcefully coerce Spain to stop its exports of the metal to Germany

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nQ47 TIL in 1997, when the computer Deep Blue went against Gary Kasparov in a game of Chess, Deep Blue made an unpredictable move in the 44th turn. Kasparov attributed this to Deep Blue’s “superior intelligence.” It was actually just a bug.
QJPbp TIL Leonardo de Vinci isn't the only one who painted the "Mona Lisa", his student Francesco painted a version her too. Francisco's painting has been kept in far better condition and is currently on display at the Prado museum in Madrid.
N5LJ TIL some of the original Playstation 1 games had the game music set as CD audio, meaning you could listen to the game music from a normal CD player. Some games contained hidden tracks that could only be accessed this way.
09NA TIL that test audiences that viewed the film “Good Night and Good Luck” prior to its release complained that the actor who played Joe McCarthy was too over-the-top, not realizing that the film used archival footage of McCarthy himself.
pY4PN TIL of Dennis Johnson a 3x NBA Champion who measured just 5'9" in High School and only played "a minute or two each game", after working several odd jobs over the summer, he grew to be 6'3. Johnson was offered a scholarship to LAHC shortly after coach Jim White witnessed Johnson playing Street Ball.