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TIL of the “Human Lightning Conductor” Roy C. Sullivan. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was struck by lightning on seven different occasions. He survived all of them.

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LlXZ TIL that J.R.R. Tolkien (author of LoTR) was a member of The Tea Club Barrovian Society whose nine members met regularly at the Barrow Stores in Birmingham, England, UK. Of the Nine, only two survived WW1. J.R.R. Tolkien was deeply traumatized by the loss of almost all his closest friends.
AD8oo TIL about Benin City - a wealthy, highly advanced and prosperous city in Africa that was rich in architecture, culture and trade. It even had underground drainage and street lights. The British Empire completely destroyed it in 1897 because they refused to be ruled by Britain.
Wk4Zd TIL that in November of 1999, Kevin Smith attended a protest against his own movie: "Dogma." He even made it onto the local news, when the on-the-scene reporter asked him (not knowing it it was him) his thoughts on the movie. He responded: "I don't know, but I've been told, 'not good.'"
QJR5E TIL of an organization in Belgium training giant rats (nicknamed "HeroRATs") to sniff out landmines in countries where explosive remnants of war pose a large threat to communities. The rats are extremely effective, outperforming both metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
eppLJ TIL that "American cheese" is a combination of cheddar, Colby, washed curd, or granular cheeses. By federal law, it must be labeled "process American cheese" if made of more than one cheese or "process American cheese food" if it's at least 51% cheese but contains other specific dairy ingredients.