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TIL the novel "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" (1978) by Alan Dean Foster was originally written as a low-budget sequel to "Star Wars" (1977) in the event that film would financially fail. Instead, after the film's success, the novel became among the first works in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

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oJwE TIL Valium was given to whales at SeaWorld to keep them calm, documents that a veterinarian at SeaWorld gave diazepam (Valium) to at least three orcas in 2006 in order to control their behavior.
Z8G4D TIL of 'If Day'. In 1942 Winnipeg, Manitoba simulated a Nazi German invasion and occupation of the city. It included a staged firefight, the internment of prominent politicians, the imposition of Nazi rule, and a parade. The event was a fundraiser for the war effort: over $3 million was collected.
7oJL TIL there have been 14 known fatalities in Britain from native adder bites since 1876. Recovery from a bite can take up to a year.
RVM8 TIL In 1906 the Bronx Zoo, NYC put an African Man on display in the Monkey house…
xVmO1 TIL that the largest gold nugget ever found (called the Welcome Stranger), would be worth approximately $4.5M USD today, discovered by two miners John Deason and Richard Oates on February 5, 1869, near Moliagul, in the state of Victoria, Australia.