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TIL the samurai sword, invented a millennium ago, was a marvel of beauty and engineering. The katana’s two different types of steel gave it optimum qualities to pierce and slash making it a highly versatile weapon in battle.

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1lpD TIL King Croesus was told by the Delphic Oracle that if he invaded Persia, he would destroy a great empire. Croesus attacked the Persians, but was eventually defeated and captured. The great empire destroyed was his own.
KOPe4 TIL it took 3 grips to restrain Sean Connery from killing the Camera Man on the set of Zardoz (1974) after the Camera man accidentally opened the camera and exposed a days worth of film. That day's filming involved Connery in heavy makeup, which he hated, so he was furious to have to film it again
wYmM TIL Like the city of Detroit, Pompeii was heavily graffitied.
49v6 TIL Mary Donaldson, a 28-year-old Australian who worked at a real estate firm, met a Danish guy at a Sydney pub in the year 2000. He was Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and she is now the Crown Princess of Denmark.
vdO8 TIL that Rembrandt’s students pranked him by painting fake coins on the floor to watch him try to pick them up.