› added 10 years ago

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TIL that Steven Russell escaped from prison by using laxatives to fake the symptoms of AIDS. He then called the prison, posing as a doctor, asking for prisoners interested in an experimental treatment, and volunteered. Once out of Texas, he sent death certificates to the prison stating he had died

WkV6X TIL 50 Cent challenged Floyd Mayweather to read one full page of a 'Harry Potter' book out loud without starting and stopping or messing up. If Floyd Mayweather accomplished this, 50 Cent agreed to donate $750,000 to a charity of Mayweather’s choice. Floyd Mayweather ultimately declined the offer.
GYnX7 TIL smell hallucinations are called phantosmia, and can be caused by infections, neurological damage, or epilepsy
16G87 TIL Anissa Weier, one of the Slenderman Stabbers was released from a mental hospital after serving 7yrs for attempted first degree intentional homicide. Her accomplice, Morgan Geyser withdrew her request for early release. Weier was sentenced to up to 25yrs in a psychiatric hospital.
R7ZO9 TIL that there is a character named Jaglom Shrek in Star Trek: TNG Season 6 episode 19, and the episode was made after the childrens book that the ogre Shrek comes from. http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/shrek/ (i can't put both links in)
VBllk TIL that due to the polio virus, as of 1959 there were a total of 1200 people permanently confined to an 'Iron Lung', a device which mimics the breathing motion of the body using variable pressure leaving the patient with only their head exposed. As of 2017, there are still 3.