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TIL of The Golden Spruce, a 300 year old, 170ft tall, Sitka spruce with a rare genetic mutation that gave its needles a golden color. It was a sacred symbol of the Haida people of British Columbia. It was cut down by Grant Hadwin, a forest engineer, as an act of protest of the logging industry.

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QNWLM TIL In the UK, the distinction between an actor and an extra is defined by agreements between the actors trade unions and the various commercial production bodies. These state that once a performer says 13 or more words in any scene, they must become a contracted actor in that production.
1nkr TIL Director Richard Kelly sought permission from Smurfs creator Peyo for the scene in which Donnie Darko and his friends discuss the Smurfs’ sexuality. The estate allowed the scene because despite being graphic, it was accurate to the Smurfs mythology.
nyQB TIL Senator William Spong of Virginia, to prevent his name from being mispronounced as “Sponge”, made his first act as senator introducing a bill called the Long Fong Spong Hong Kong Song Bill, which would protect the songwriters in Hong Kong. This was, of course, cosponsored by Sen. Long and Fong.
QJ59L TIL Liechtenstein, a country that has one of the highest gross domestic products per person in the world when adjusted for purchasing power parity, has no army because it was deemed too costly.
LQmvv TIL Stanley Kubrick was a stationery aficionado and made frequent trips to a stationery shop in St. Albans, UK, to "see if they had something new". Nobody ever recognised him.