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TIL that there was a real James Bond. He was an ornithologist from Philadelphia who wrote the book, "Birds of the West Indies" (1936). Bond author Ian Fleming borrowed the name because he wanted the iconic spy to have an ordinary name and he was also a birdwatcher who loved Bond's book.

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x68Xw TIL that a high school student exposed the King of Belgium's illegitimate daughter. Mario Daneels, 18 years old, wrote a biography of Queen Paola, wife of Albert II, in 1999 which revealed the secret. The embarrassing book appeared as Albert's heir Philippe (the current king) was about to marry.
XEYbP TIL the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib, aka Golden Temple, a pilgrimage place for the Sikh religion, was laid on request by Sai Mir Milan Mohammed, a Muslim Pir Of Lahore.
JwDl TIL that Samuel Johnson wrote in his dictionary definition for oats: “A food usually reserved for horses in England, in Scotland supports the people.” His Scottish biographer retorted, “Aye, which is why in England you’ll raise fine horses, while in Scotland we’ll raise fine people.”
e4JE TIL “Suicide is Painless” is the M.A.S.H theme song, with words, written by the movie director’s 14 year old son, and that he has earned more than 1 million dollars while his dad only made 70K total.
PYlaZ TIL that Japanese bullet trains have never had fatalities due to derailments or collisions, but once a boy had his finger stuck in the closing doors and was dragged along until dead. Court fined the station officer present $5k and had Japan Railways pay the boy's parents $440k in compensation.