› added 10 years ago

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TIL That the Soviet Union, and now Russia, have a fail-deadly system which automatically launches a full scale nuclear attack in the event that authoritative command is incapacitated. It uses light, seismic, radioactive, and overpressure systems to activate the launch. It is still in use today.

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0wGKv TIL actor Jon Heder’s famous dance finale in the cultural phenomenon comedy movie "Napoleon Dynamite" was shot with a roll of about 10 minutes of film left. Heder danced three times, and the entire dance sequence in the final cut was taken from those. The film earned $46M from a budget of $400K.
9YGNM TIL Europe's first beer fountain in Žalec, Slovenia was built by the town community using the tax money collected from a resident who won the Eurojackpot lottery. In the fountain, it's possible to drink different beers from five taps with a special microchipped glass.
aZ9b TIL black people in ancient Rome were not discriminated against because of their skin colour or physical features. They were not excluded from any profession and there was no stigma against mixed race relationships. Classical writers did not attach social status or degree of humanity to skin colour.
Gal5 TIL a Dutch television network broadcasted The Big Donorshow, in which a supposedly terminally ill woman chose 1 out of 25 contestants to receive her kidney after she died. The program sparked a major controversy, but led to 50.000 requests for donor forms.
j6yjN TIL about Eternal Flame Falls in New York, a waterfall where natural gas leaks and ignites, creating a flame in the waterfall's base.