› added 6 years ago

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TIL one unofficial method of defending merchant vessels against Somali pirates is to blast Britney Spears music. And it has been reported to be effective.

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PY7jJ TIL that commercial radio was invented due to a bet. Frank Conrad, the inventor, wanted to settle a $5 bet about the accuracy of his $12 watch. He ended up building a radio receiver with the original purpose to hear the time signals transmitted by the U.S. Naval Observatory.
GYG4N TIL Space Jam merchandise has earned at least 1.2 Billion dollars worldwide. Space Jam's “global economic impact" was estimated to be at around 4-6 Billion.
GAk71 TIL that Clint Eastwood - at the height of his "silent and violent gunslinger" fame - starred in a big-budget western musical called Paint Your Wagon. At nearly 3 hours long, the film was not well reviewed. Eastwood's song "I Talk to the Trees" was singled out for derision.
VMjP0 TIL YouTuber Bart Baker ran for president in 2016 and announced his campaign by putting up a billboard in Times Square of himself riding a hoverboard with a suit top and boxer shorts with the American flag on them.
R75j4 TIL the last Boer war veteran died in 1993 aged 111 years old