› added 12 years ago

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TIL that British Rail once held up a train for 20 minutes so that a distraught man could get to his mother in hospital before she died.

Read more bbc.co.uk

via reddit.com

m7YE TIL: the bikini swimsuit was named after the nuclear explosions that destroyed Bikini island. The inventor wanted to imply the bikini was as momentous an invention as the new bomb. This was a time when beautiful women were “bombshells” and anything cool was “atomic.”
avZJ TIL Sugarhill Gang’s 14 ½ minute “Rapper’s Delight” was recorded in a single take.
9YGPm TIL American alligators live farther from the equator and are able to handle colder weather conditions better than all other crocodilians. They have adapted to freezing water by going into periods of brumation. The natural range of the American alligator extends as far north as North Carolina.
7Ayr TIL Robin Williams voiced The Genie in “Aladdin” for $75,000. He agreed to the job provided that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork. Disney went back on both promises to ensure box office success.
mRoY TIL that in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the name of Uncle Phil’s law firm is “Firth, Wynn and Meyer” as a reference to the band Earth, Wind, and Fire.