› added 6 years ago

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TIL that the author of Forrest Gump had a deal to receive a lump sum and a cut of the film's net profits, but Paramount reported a loss and refused to pay him the cut. He settled with Paramount and they bought the rights to the sequel, which has been stuck in development for over a decade.

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E1dlp TIL that male cuttlefish disguise themselves as females to get past competing males and mate with females. If a male isn't as big and tough as other males vying to mate with a female, then he'll rely on cunning and stealth instead.
0yeR TIL a 5 year old boy in India fell asleep on a train and ended up lost and alone in Calcutta. 25 years later he finally found his way home using Google Maps
kOYp1 TIL: that the phrase ‘devil’s advocate’ comes from a medieval job title. The ‘advocatus diaboli’ was the guy tasked with coming up with counter arguments when a priest was nominated to be blessed or canonized.
R5N81 TIL there are no rainbows on any other known planets, because Earth is the only planet to have liquid water on its surface or in sufficient quantities in the atmosphere to make rain.
epw1g TIL the term "county" is used in 48 US states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs respectively.