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TIL Americans exchange diamond rings because in 1938 De Beers decided that they would like us to. This is due to a stunningly successful marketing campaign in 1938. Not only is the demand for diamonds a marketing invention, but diamonds aren’t actually that rare.

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BNyd TIL Tolkien’s son hates The Lord of the Rings movies
EgDPX TIL that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, was rejected by the USC School of Cinematic Arts five times before being accepted on his sixth application
kOQ4d TIL in mid 18th century Gross National Income per capita (PPP) of countries that today make up third world (Asia, Africa, Latin America) was more than first world (Western Europe, Northern America, Japan, Singapore and South Korea)
XAeX TIL: Richard Feynman was divorced for doing too much calculus
XERPr TIL that the Japanese film Battle Royale (2000) is banned in South Korea and took 11 years before it was released in the United States and Canada. The film was banned in Germany in 2013, but this was later overturned. Quentin Tarantino considers Battle Royale to be one of his favourite films.