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TIL in 1903 Japan operated "human zoos" of their colonies. These lasted until they mistakenly put a schoolteacher on exhibit who confused spectators by making eloquent speeches & fundraising for his school while wearing traditional dress, embarrassing the organizers

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NX6d6 TIL, though released a month earlier, the Movie "My Blue Heaven" is a loose sequel to "Goodfellas". The screenwriter Nora Ephron based Steve Martin's Character on Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta in Goodfellas). She was also married to the Writer the book "Goodfellas" was based on, Nicholas Pileggi.
mxgrR TIL The bowler hat was the most popular in the American West, prompting Lucius Beebe to call the bowler, "the hat that won the West". The cowboy hat derives from the "Boss of the Plains" hat which was manufactured by J.B. Stetson in 1865 and was marketed to cowboys as a durable success symbol.
OolJY TIL: Minesweeper's theme was so controversial in some countries that Microsoft was forced to replace the mines with flowers in some locations and rebrand it as "Flower Garden". Link
4Xb4b TIL that the original XBOX prototype was literally a gigantic X. It was carved out of aluminum and cost $18,000 to manufacture, but you could actually play on it.
8aJaK TIL Getty Images, a company infamous for sending threatening letters requesting payment when their photos are used without permission, was sued for more than $1 billion in damages when they mistakenly demanded a “settlement payment” from a photographer for her own work.