› added 7 years ago

4987

TIL The Beatles approached Stanley Kubrick to direct a LOTR movie starring themselves. Tolkien killed the project as a result of his hate for The Beatles. A hate developed after moving 3 doors down from The Beatles in 1964, who irked him with the “indescribable” noise from their practice sessions.

Read more firstthings.com

via reddit.com

gMZv9 TIL that Steve Carell had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned for The Office. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais's characterizations
9Y0BQ TIL The Halifax Explosion was the biggest man made non weapons test explosion that resulted in casualties, with force equivalent to 2.9 kilotons of TNT the explosion caused 60 foot tsunami's and a shock wave that traveled at 7889 meter/s (23X speed of sound) and temperatures of 9,000°F at the center
b6vlE TIL about Project Plowshare, a project by the US government to allow nuclear explosives for commercial use, such as oil extraction. It was ended over concerns about radiation in the air and fuel extracted being to radioactive to use.
4kOOo TIL There was an episode of "All in the Family" where a man attacks Edith on her 50th birthday to which she defends herself with a burnt cake prompting the loudest cheers and applause from the studio audience in the history of the entire series.
1aoYd TIL Research shows distinct changes in the brains of London taxi drivers throughout the process of acquiring 'The Knowledge' (memorising the 320 routes within 6 miles of Charring Cross). An increase in grey matter and better memory "proved the brain could adapt to new tasks, even in adulthood."