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TIL that Dwayne Johnson was Tim Burton’s second choice for Willy Wonka in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’

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LkArP TIL that in 1995, Theo Müller - head of yoghurt company Müller - was kidnapped and held at gunpoint. Müller threw himself out of the car and promptly returned to work that afternoon.
8a8kV Today I learned that when the Whittington brothers, of Le Mans 24h fame, bought Road Atlanta (the racetrack with the longest straight at the time in the US) in 1979, they used it to secretly land drug smuggling aircraft under the cover of darkness.
8eeEX TIL When Mozart stopped by Linz on his way back to Vienna, he found out the local count wanted him to contribute a symphony for an upcoming concert. Mozart was not expecting it and had no music with him, so he ended up having to write a symphony in merely 4 days.
dND8 TIL that eating and drinking in the chamber of the British parliament are both strictly prohibited. The sole exception is for the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is allowed an alcoholic drink when delivering the Budget statement.
Bg85b TIL that in the 1840s, people would say 'Prunes' instead of 'Cheese' when getting a picture taken.