› added 6 years ago

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TIL Adrien Brody, in order to star as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist, "withdrew for months, gave up his apartment and his car, broke up with his then-girlfriend, learned how to play Chopin on the piano, and lost 29" pounds, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor at 29 years old.

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via reddit.com

ADpKn TIL about Robert Pickton the Pig Farmer Killer who confessed to murdering 49 women 83-2002. There’s even speculation that he ground his victims up with pork and sold it to the public. He said he was disappointed that he didn’t get to 50 women and was caught because he was “sloppy”.
X0Eo8 TIL that ridiculously high platform shoes were worn by women during the middle ages. Up to 20" tall, they allowed powerful women to tower over underlings. Venice had to pass laws limiting them to 3 inches due to injuries.
6DeZ TIL in 1999 a guy bought 12,150 servings of pudding ($3,140) and in return earned 1,253,000 frequent flyer miles.
PYwVJ TIL rust can kill you. Rusting metal consumes oxygen and can lead to death especially in confined spaces like holds of ships. In 2007, three people suffocated one after the other in the anchor locker of a vessel because rust had consume all the oxygen.
kkR5 TIL that after being rejected by 20 publishers, Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic Dune was finally picked up by Chilton Books. The publisher was previously known only for those big car repair manuals sold in auto parts stores.