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TIL on August 5, 1944, one of the biggest jail-breaks in history involved hundreds of Japanese POWs attempting to escape an Australian prisoner camp. The Japanese considered the Australians weak because they treated the prisoners well. 234 of the Japanese were killed and another 108 wounded.

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0dvN1 TIL a cockatiel named Lucky was reunited with its owners after escaping 3 years earlier. It was found on a church porch and positively identified after it began whistling and dancing to the Andy Griffith Show theme song.
17wO TIL on the day before Super Bowl XXII, [Redskins QB Doug] Williams had a six-hour root canal surgery performed (under full anaesthetic) to repair an abscess under a dental bridge; he played the Super Bowl with his jaw wired shut.
AraB TIL that Harper Lee received one year’s wages as a Christmas gift from a friend to write whatever she wanted. She used her time off to write “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
5V749 TIL of Sir Anthony Meyer, a Conservative MP who challenged Margaret Thatcher for the leadership. Dismissed as having no chance by the media, his challenge ultimately brought Thatcher down from power, as it showed how many of her own party had grown tired of her.
9JpQ TIL of an Anaheim chef who serves free pasta meals to “motel kids” whose families cannot afford permanent homes. The chef was inspired by his Italian mother who saw a child eating potato chips for dinner and told him in Italian, “You must feed them the pasta!” He has served over 270,000 meals.