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TIL "2001: A Space Odyssey" was initially very poorly received by audiences due to it's slow place and ambiguous plot. The movie became more successful when masses of people began flocking to watch the movie while stoned, with MGM even advertising it as "The ultimate trip".

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yQOP8 TIL the accent that most actors had in films from the 30's and 40's (i.e. Jimmy Stewart from It's a Wonderful Life) was known as "Transatlantic" and nobody ever actually spoke that way.
00Yp TIL after a bombing run a damaged bomber was flying home when Luftwaffe pilot, was ordered to shoot it down. He refused as he saw it as dishonourable and flew with it to open sea, to prevent it being shot down. The two pilots met 40 years later and become friends for the rest of their lives.
KOVDE TIL there’s a DC Comics superhero who’s a parody of Popeye. Captain Strong is an exceptionally strong sailor who gains super-strength by eating a mysterious seaweed.
XEXy8 TIL The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was a group of computer hardware manufacturers, from 1989 to 2009/2010. This acronym was difficult to say and remember, and was sometimes jokingly referred to as "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms"
9WAM TIL In ancient Phoenician Sardinia, whenever elderly people were no longer able to support themselves, they were given a neurotoxic plant called “sardonic herb” and thrown off of a cliff. It is the source of the term “sardonic grin” because of the facial expression the plant caused following death.