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TIL that Valve used a picture of a real corpse with it's face burned off for one of the 3D models in Half-Life 2.

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via reddit.com

ADDyl TIL in November 1783, when he was in Paris, Benjamin Franklin witnessed the flight of one of the first hot-air balloons. As the balloon soared into the air, a spectator asked Franklin what this new invention could be used for. Franklin responded by saying “What good is a new-born baby?”
ykEM TIL the name “Häagen-Dazs” is completely meaningless. The Jewish creator of the ice cream wanted a “Danish sounding” name to honor the Danish treatment of Jews during WWII and said gibberish names until he found one that he liked.
kOLwE TIL that all four members of the Beatles are/were ordained ministers through the Universal Life Church.
9YMkM TIL: School bus yellow was specifically created for use on school buses at a conference in 1939. Attendees at the seven-day conference included paint experts from DuPont and Pittsburgh Paints. The color was chosen because it attracts attention and is noticed quickly in peripheral vision.
X0wA6 TIL of the Cypress of Kashmar, a tree said to have been planted by the son-in-law of the prophet Zoroaster, that at 1400 years of age was chopped down by the Abbasid Caliph Motavakol because he wanted it brought to him and "reassembled" in Baghdad. He was assassinated soon after it was chopped down.