TIL A Japanese franchise plays certain songs in their stores if it's busy, if it's raining, if there is a robbery, or if there is a bomb
TIL The fictional city, Ankh-Morpork, from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, is twinned with Wincanton, in Somerset, UK, and the town is the first to name streets after their fictional equivalents.
TIL Steve Jobs never coded for Apple. According to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, he didn't do any original design and one of Apple's earliest employees also stated that Woz was the inventor while Jobs was the marketing person.
TIL that there's a grocery chain in the UK called Iceland Foods that once pursued legal action against Icelandic companies that use the name Iceland in their names. Iceland Foods was founded in 1970, while the country Iceland was established in 874.
TIL that the bottom of a tectonic plate off Portugal’s coast is peeling off, causing the plates to start grinding beneath each other and creating a subduction zone.
TIL on the Carol Burnett Show, they would frequently do two takes of every skit. One done as it was written, and then again with Tim Conway being allowed to include his bizarre ad-libs such as having a Hitler handpuppet sing, or telling a story about Siamese Twin elephants connected at the trunk.
TIL that statisticians, Ruth O'Brien and William Shelton, tried to make standardized U.S clothing sizes for women in the 1940s by measuring 15,000 women. They came up with a three part sizing system due to the diversity in body shapes. It was rejected because it was too difficult for manufacturing.
TIL ever since 2003, MIT has published an annual list of 10 breakthroughs in technology. 2020's list included anti-aging drugs, AI-discovered molecules, and hyper-personalized medicine.
TIL Jerry Garcia had more than a dozen side bands, and after spending months on the road with the Grateful Dead he would immediately start another tour with other musicians so he could keep playing live music.