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TIL Dwayne Johnson was set to star in a movie about Hawaiian warrior-king Kamehameha, but was pulled because he’s Samoan, with the producer saying, “It would be a great taboo for the part to go to a nationality that was a fierce enemy of the Hawaiians during that time.”

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p8bE8 TIL that Simpsons episode where Krustyburger nearly goes bankrupt from giving out free burgers when USA won gold medals is based on fact, and this actually happened with McDonald's when the USSR boycotted the 1984 games
G4NN TIL the first webcam was created to help people working in other parts of a building avoid pointless trips to an empty coffee pot.
KOjpQ TIL American Airlines circumvented the manufacturer's instructions to save 200 man-hours, doing so they caused the US' worst airline disaster in history. Their procedure was damaging the pylon mounts without anyone knowing it. The manufacturer had warned American Airlines against their procedure.
XEJNR TIL that the then-owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken unsuccessfully sued Colonel Sanders for libel in the 1970s after he publicly described the chain's gravy as "sludge" that tasted like wallpaper paste. Despite their differences, he remained the public face of KFC until his death in 1980 at age 90.
KdwQ TIL that in 1830, a black man named Ira Aldridge portrayed the title character in Othello and stunned critics not because his acting was excellent, but because a black man could remember “the most difficult passages” correctly