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TIL about Special Forces intel officer COL James N. Rowe who was a POW in the Vietnam War. Rowe spent 62 months in captivity, battled numerous diseases, solved engineering problems to disguise he was an intel officer, and escaped via helicopter by over-powering the guards.

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kOenE TIL of Erica Pratt, who was abducted and locked in a basement when she was seven years old. She escaped her kidnappers in less than 24 hours by gnawing through the duct tape binding her hands and feet, kicking out a panel on the basement door, punching out a window, and then screaming for help.
nedor TIL 70 years ago Russian scientists developed the first concept of a fusion reactor, called Tokamak. This reactor has the shape of a metal hollow bagel, in which a strong magnetic field keeps the plasma at a safe distance from the walls of the reactor.
BwVK TIL Demetri Martin, a stand-up comedian well known for playing instruments during his shows, originally only played to prevent Comedy Central from editing his stand-up special out of order. It was so popular, he continues to do it to this day.
PLbn TIL: The La Brea Tar Pits is a good example of a tautological place name - “The The Tar Tar Pits”. Others include; Torpenhow Hill, or Hillhillhill Hill…
DOVY TIL In 2008, Prince covered Radiohead’s “Creep” at Coachella. Someone uploaded a mobile video of it to Youtube. Prince quickly made Youtube remove it. After finding out about the blocking, Radiohead’s lead singer Thom Yorke said “Well, tell him to unblock it. It’s our song.”