› added 12 years ago

77

TIL that a there is a traditional British army drink called gunfire made of black tea and rum. Officers serve it to lower ranks on Christmas. During the Korean war, British soldiers once gave gunfire to some American MPs, causing them to drive an ARV and some Jeeps into a fence.

77Ex TIL Hattie McDaniel, the first African American Oscar winner, was required to sit at a segregated table; her white agent, William Meiklejohn, sat at the same table. The hotel hosting the ceremony had a strict no-blacks policy, but allowed McDaniel in as a favor.
JYaPm TIL all three members of Bee Gees revealed during a copyright trial that they never learned to read or write sheet music despite being among the most prolific songwriters of all time. Instead, they developed a trial-and-error process and relied on their staff to transcribe the results.
DVQr TIL Frank Zappa was so astounded by the success of “Bobby Brown”, especially in Scandinavia, that he wanted CBS to hire an anthropologist to study why the song became such a big hit.
R58Y4 TIL that the full ceremonial name for Bangok is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit
JGXj TIL critics complained that Indian musician Daler Mehndi’s music was only popular because his videos featured beautiful women. Mehndi’s response was to create a video featuring only copies of himself greenscreened in, leading to the creation of the “Tunak Tunak Tun” video.