› added 12 years ago

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TIL that a website exists for people to get D-list celebrities and Hollywood has-beens phone them live for as little as 20 bucks.

wZRJ TIL of a British soldier who fought in both world wars, was shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear, survived two plane crashes, tunneled out of a POW camp, bit off his own fingers when a doctor refused to amputate them, and said of WWI, “Frankly, I had enjoyed the War.”
x6jjw TIL that in 1860, Birkenhead (UK) had become the first town in Europe to operate a street tramway. It was started by George Francis Train, an American entrepreneur
xwpo TIL of William and Francis Buckland, eccentric father and son scientists who both developed the desire to consume as many different animals as possible. It is believed William Buckland also ate the heart of King Louis XIV. Charles Darwin called him a “vulgar and almost coarse man”
vbDj TIL Gary Webb, an Investigative Reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, wrote a series of articles about CIA involvement in cocaine trafficking into the US. On December 10, 2004, Gary Webb was found dead in his apartment from two gunshot wounds to the head. His death was later ruled as a suicide.
BrkYd TIL that in the film Jaws, the shark was malfunctioning. Spielberg had to use certain POV shots and John William's score to increase the tension, and other cues (ie barrels, dorsal fins, etc) to note the shark's presence. This is a highly influential filmmaking choice and Jaws is an extreme success.