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TIL the real MASH surgeon Hawkeye Pierce was based on was a hawkish conservative who hated Alan Alda's portrayal.

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nePBG TIL 450 Tasmanian opium farmers supply approximately 50% of the world's opium used in painkillers
kOM0m TIL the Rubik's Cube was so popular in the 80's that the best selling book in 1981 was about solving techniques, selling over 6 million copies
5Vnar TIL that 'Penny dreadful', which started in Britain in the 1830's, were the first 'Pop Culture' product. The serial stories, mass produced for new, young readers, sold up to a million copies per week. Each chapter had 8-16 pages and cost a penny. Sensational topics included crime, the supernatural.
oYA8 TIL that a spanish athlete added 20 metres to the javelin throw world record in 1956 using a style that was later banned due to the danger it posed to the public.
4m7J TIL that London cabbies study for years to take an exam called “The Knowledge of London,” requiring memorization of over 25,000 streets and many more businesses and landmarks.