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TIL Voltaire never wrote “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” - Evelyn Beatrice Hall wrote the famous sentence in Friends of Voltiere in 1906

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R75D1 TIL that intelligence agencies seek what they call "FINCA": information that is Foreign, of Interest, New, Clandestine, and Authoritative.
NXvGe TIL after professional football player Lyle Alzado became enraged, throwing a helmet at another player, the NFL enacted the "Lyle Alzado Rule” that disallowed the use of helmets as a weapon. Years later, Alzado was beset with brain cancer, believing it to be retribution for a profligate lifestyle.
m1WZy TIL that Winston Churchill lived to the age of 90, despite smoking and drinking to excess as well as being overweight.
grwRA TIL that Shi Yousan, a Chinese general, betrayed a total of seven forces (the forces of Wu Peifu, Feng Yuxiang, Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, Zhang Xueliang, the Chinese Communist Party, and Japan) and thus was known as the "Defector General".
7r4YZ TIL The Roland 808 drum machine was commercial and critical flop because it didn't produce a realistic drum sound. However, its 'unusual' synthetic beats and effects made it a cult favourite among EDM and hip-hop artists, which eventually turned the 808 into the icon it is today.