› added 11 years ago

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TIL there was the Soviet equivalent to Eurovision called the Intervision Song Contest. Because of a lack of phones, viewers would turn lights on or off if they liked or didn’t like the song. According to load experienced on the electrical network, points were granted accordingly to each contestant.

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BrpaD TIL that Basil Zaharoff sold the Greek government a submarine, then told the Turkish government that the Greeks had a submarine, Turkey then bought 2 submarines. He then told the same to the Russian government who later bought 2 submarines as well. None of the submarines worked.
MeQlW TIL Charlie from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was actually supposed to be black. According to Roald Dahl's wife, he changed it because his agent pressured him that a black protagonist might not appeal to potential buyers.
ZPep TIL if all the frozen water stored near the south pole of Mars suddenly melted, it would make a planetwide ocean 11 meters deep.
JJEQ TIL that H.G. Wells taught Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne in primary school
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