› added 6 years ago

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TIL The Grapes of Wrath was allowed in Soviet theaters to show the "cruel" nature of capitalism but quickly withdrawn as Soviets were amazed that even poor people in America owned cars

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gM6EA TIL that Adam Steltzner, chief engineer of NASA's Mars 2020 project, was a music college dropout who failed high school geometry. He took his first physics class in a local community college only because it was a prerequisite for another class.
e07JJ TIL that North and South Korea engaged in a 'flagpole war' during the 1980's to build a tall flagpole. This resulted in North Korea having the tallest flagpole in the world for over a decade at 160 meters high.
69XKw TIL about Ota Benga, an indigenous Mbuti who was featured at a 1904 human zoo (Louisiana Purchase Exposition). There he was kept, caged, with an orangutan as an attempt to ridicule Darwinism. He was given a bow and arrow so as to "enhance the primitive image".
e0BmD TIL Prince planned on having a female alter ego named Camille by recording his vocals at a slower speed, so when it was played back, his pitch would be higher. The plan was scrapped and most of the tunes resurfaced later as album tracks or B-sides.
PY1Aw The National Toy Hall of Fame awarded “oldest toy” to the stick. Edward Bleiberg, a curator of Egyptian art at the Brooklyn Museum, says that Neolithic balls made from mud are probably out there, but in any case it would be difficult to determine if they were playthings.