› added 4 years ago

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TIL that the Soviets realised that the Americans and British were developing an atomic bomb when they noticed that Western scientists had ceased publishing papers on nuclear science. Correctly guessing that nuclear science had been made a state secret, they began their own program

4X5nX TIL that the origins of the "universal S" are unknown. Even a youtuber who spent 5 years researching it couldn't come to a conclusion. The symbol appeared in some places as far as a century ago, and is belived to have spread worldwide before the internet, but it is unclear how or why.
Zp44Y TIL Orion Pictures felt the 1989 film UHF would be more successful if it was PG-rated. To do it, two scenes would have been removed: one where a man gets his thumb cut off with a table saw and one where poodles were thrown out a window. Weird Al refused and did not regret it. No poodles were harmed.
EggVd TIL that the mobile gaming market ($86.3 billion) is bigger than the PC gaming market ($32.4 billion) and the console market ($51.2 billion) combined.
VjkB TIL a senior auditor in the Church of Scientology was stabbed 77 times by her schizophrenic son. In line with rules of the church she refused him traditional mental healthcare, and was told by a Scientologist physician that her son had digestive issues and should be energized with vitamins instead.
pYPbZ TIL of the Arthurian Knight Feirefiz, brother of Parzival. His mother was a Moorish Queen and his skin is described as being like a Magpie, both black and white.