› added 11 years ago

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TIL that despite making $475 million at the box office, against a $32.5 million budget, Return of the Jedi is still shown as not making any profit, on paper, thus denying the actor who played Darth Vader any residuals.

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4kRyJ TIL the screw thread is believed to have been invented around 400 BCE, by Archytas of Tarentum, a Greek philosopher sometimes called “the father of mechanics.” The general principle of the screw was applied early on, in cities like Pompeii, to extract olive oil and grape juice
jDeR TIL That Optical tweezers exist and are capable of holding single molecules for study
R7Pv7 TIL that of the 12 Generals who became presidents, only 3 (Washington, Eisenhower, and Andrew Johnson) didn't have bases named after them.
v1yW7 TIL that in the Swiss boarding school Institut Le Rosey, a quota system limits students of any one country or linguistic region (e.g. English-speaking countries, German-speaking countries) to 10% of the school’s total population, which results in the 450 students coming from over 70 countries
8aypG TIL in film editing, that in 1994 only 3 feature films had ever been edited digitally. By 1995 none had ever won an Oscar for best editing. In 1996 "The English Patient" was the first (edited by Walter Murch on the Avid). Since then every Oscar winner has been.except 1998's "Saving Private Ryan".