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TIL of Gen. Gregor MacGregor, a Scottish con man who ran the “Poyais Scheme,” in which he convinced the entirety of the UK that he was the head of the (non-existent) paradise-like Kingdom of Poyais, going so far as to write a constitution for Poyais and establish several Poyais embassies in the UK.

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yggl TIL that in ‘The Godfather’, McCluskey’s shooting was done by building a fake forehead on top of actor Sterling Hayden. A gap was cut in the middle, filled with fake blood, and was bunged up with prosthetic flesh. The plug was yanked out with fishing line, making a hole suddenly appear.
woLyJ TIL about the 1st Minnesota Infantry who lost 82% of their fighting strength on July 2nd 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. This stands as the largest loss by any surviving US military unit in a single days engagement
P0nO TIL that Sid Vicious was such a poor bassist that when performing with the Sex Pistols his band mates would often unplug his amplifier mid-performance.
KOLJB TIL that a serial killer named Marcel Petiot evaded capture, then disguised himself as a cop, eventually being the cop assigned to investigate his very own murders, before eventually someone recognized him.
OPGL TIL of the ESPN show Playmakers. It was their first original drama series depicting the lives of an American football team. Despite high ratings, the show was cancelled after 11 episodes due to pressure from the NFL, who thought the show negatively portrayed pro football players