› added 11 years ago

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TIL Stephen Fry claims to know the true reason for Douglas Adams choosing 42 as the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Saying it’s “fascinating, extraordinary and, when you think hard about it, completely obvious.” Alas, he also says he’ll take the true meaning to his grave.

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Po1E TIL that during WWII, Bicycle playing cards were made so that, when submerged in water, they could be peeled apart to reveal parts of a map inside. These decks were given to POWs, so that if they escaped, they could assemble a full map out of the cards.
W74pY TIL Floridian fathers had to be reminded not to assault their child via a billboard because it was becoming a problem.
x6851 TIL of Burger King's "A Day Without Whopper" in Argentina. On November 10, 2017, Burger Kings in Argentina did not sell the Whopper and told customers who wanted one to buy a Big Mac at McDonald's instead, because McDonald's was donating the Big Mac proceeds that day to help children with cancer.
JDE4 TIL that after being made aware of their racial biases in referee calls through widespread media exposure, individual National Basketball Association referees became unbiased, suggesting that raising awareness of even subtle forms of racism can bring about meaningful change.
wLoA6 TIL that Walter Murphy, the composer of the Disco adaptation of Beethoven's 5th symphony known as "A Fifth of Beethoven", has also served as one of the main composers for the TV show Family Guy since 1999