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TIL that The Replacements (who were replacing The Pointer Sisters at the last minute as the SNL musical guest) smuggled booze and drugs backstage, got drunk with Harry Dean Stanton, broke a guitar on their way to perform, swore on-air, and were banned from returning to the show.

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woEBP TIL that Frank Sinatra carried 10 dimes and was also buried with them in his pocket after his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped in 1963. The kidnappers demanded he communicate by payphone only, and he was afraid he wouldn't have enough coins for the conversations.
Nad8 TIL that the F-117A stealth fighter shot down by the Serbians in 1999 was picked up on radar because it had opened its internal bomb doors - the open doors increased its radar profile, allowing a SAM missile crew to get a lock on.
OEwL TIL 17 Mexican-Americans were tried for a murder and convicted without evidence or due process. L. A. sheriff testified, “Mexicans as a community had a "blood thirst” and a “biological predisposition” to crime and killing, citing the culture of human sacrifice practiced by their Aztec ancestors.“
gMpM9 TIL about John Britten. He and his small team built a motorcycle out of his garage that would defeat major manufacturers like Honda and Ducati at major races as well as break several world records. He designed and fabricated almost every component from scratch.
NXrX8 TIL that László József Bíró was a Hungarian inventor who patented the most commercially successful ballpoint pen also invented the automatic gearbox. He also at some point in his life, worked as a hypnotist, insurance salesman, book publisher and he also sold oil.