› added 9 years ago

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TIL that around 1.5 million people were evicted in Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Olympics

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via reddit.com

a8O7o TIL that actor Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, Stranger Things) turned down the lead role of Pete Mitchell in “Top Gun” (1986) as he grew up with siblings that served in the Vietnam war. Modine said: “There’s nothing sexy or romantic about war.” The role ultimately went to Tom Cruise.
R7Ly6 TIL shipping magnate Malcom McLean built the high speed SL-7 cargo ships only to see the '73 Oil Crisis increase fuel costs tenfold, forcing them from service. Next he bet the fate of his company on the extremely fuel efficient Jumbo Econships, only to see oil prices crash. US Lines went bankrupt.
obwW TIL of “muntzing”, a method for improving the design of electronic products: Remove components until it stops working, then put the last-removed part back in. It is named after Earl “Madman” Muntz, who used the method to cut manufacturing costs of his popular televisions in the 1940s and 50s.
V7Pm TIL that the Romans were defeated in 67BC by King Mithridates of Pontus. They ate the hallucinogenic honey that was left behind as a beguiling gift by the Pontian army and were defeated while tripping balls.
eAGn TIL There is an Israeli policy document prepared in 1996 advocating an aggressive new policy including the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and the containment of Syria by engaging in proxy warfare and highlighting their possession of “weapons of mass destruction”.