TIL Nic Cage once crashed a Nic Cage film festival, watched 4 of his own films, did a 47-minute Q&A and read a 10-minute short story
TIL the US Army acquired 75 camels from abroad after Congress appropriated $30,000 in 1855 for the procurement of camels for military purposes. The camels were determined to be well suited for hauling supplies between military outposts in arid regions. They were subsequently all auctioned off.
TIL the role of Hannibal Lecter was turned down by Sean Connery, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro & others. Silence of the Lambs would go on to be the 3rd film in history to win all "Big 5" Academy Awards & upon release in 1991 on VHS, became the most rented film in the United States.
TIL about the Babbs Switch Fire, which killed 35 people attending a party on Christmas Eve when “Santa” knocked a candle off of the tree. New renovations to the building trapped people inside, which led to updated fire codes throughout Oklahoma.
TIL most of the days of the week are named after Nordic Gods. Tyr for Tuesday, Odin (also pronounced Woden) for Wednesday, Thor for Thursday and Frigg for Friday. Meanwhile, Sun for Sunday, Moon for Monday and the Roman God Saturn for Saturday make up the rest.
TIL a tanner, John J. Loud, desiring a pen that could write on leather, invented the first ballpoint pen and patented it in 1888. This pen had a small steel ball which was placed so it could not fall out nor fall in but it still could rotate freely. Loud's invention then was not commercially viable.
TIL Ned McIlhenny, son of the Tabasco inventor, was a prominent conservationist and is credited with saving Snowy Egrets from extinction. Tabasco never tasted so good.
TIL during the Rwandan genocide, Tutsi women were deliberately infected with HIV so that Tutsi population be controlled in the long term
TIL Truman was among the poorest U.S. presidents, with a net worth much less than $1 million. His financial situation contributed to the doubling of the presidential salary to $100,000 in 1949. In addition, the presidential pension was created in 1958 when Truman was again having financial hardship.
TIL Health Canada's Health Survey found that more than 85 % of Inuit preschoolers have cavities or other kinds of decay in eight of their baby teeth, on average. Almost 98 % Inuit adolescents have tooth decay and 73 % of older Inuit adults who were surveyed needed some kind of dental care