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TIL a Scottish man fasted for 382 days, living on vitamin supplements and non-caloric beverages. He was morbidly obese, weighing 456 pounds, and lost 276 pounds. The fast was monitored by doctors, who detected no ill-effects. He never regained the weight. It was the longest recorded fast in history.

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Q116 TIL that in 1945 a man survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima, caught the morning train so he could arrive at his job on time - in Nagasaki - where he survived another atomic blast. His name was Tsutomu Yamaguchi and he is the only person recognized by Japan’s govt. to have survived both attacks.
J1Pp8 TIL ‘Linguistics and Comparative Language’ degree holders have the highest unemployment rate (10.5%) for bachelors degree holders ages 30-54.
XEga6 TIL of Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Albanian who rose through the ranks of the Ottoman army to become viceroy of Egypt. While viceroy, he destroyed the first Saudi state, conquered Sudan, and launched a rebellion which almost overthrew the Sultan, before being halted by European intervention.
LkDl9 TIL singers with accents (e.g British accent) sing with an "American" or "neutral" accent because it is simply the easiest way to sing. Words are drawn out and more powerfully pronounced making the accents "neutral". It's not done intentionally.
y97p TIL singer-songwriter Jim Croce financed his first album in 1966 with a $500 wedding gift from his parents, who hoped that he would give up music after the album failed. He died in a plane crash in 1973, 5 albums and 11 singles later.