› added 9 years ago

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TIL early telephones had no ringers and no hang-up hooks. Callers would get the attention of those they were calling by yelling loudly (often, “ahoy!”) into the receiver until someone on the other end noticed.

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PYZ7L TIL about the Tarpeian Rock in Rome. In ancient times Romans threw traitors and murderers off this rock, named after the mythological first traitor to be flung from it: the Vestal Virgin Tarpeia.
dD6yj TIL a month prior to his 11th birthday, Peter Fonda accidentally shot himself in the abdomen and nearly died. Years later while taking LSD with John Lennon and George Harrison, he mentioned the incident, saying, "I know what it's like to be dead." This inspired The Beatles' song "She Said She Said"
PYvlL TIL Jurassic Park was meant to use stop motion instead of CGI, but two artists worked on a CGI T-Rex in secret, and once they finished it, they quietly put a video of it on screen when Kathleen Kennedy visited their office. the video convinced Kennedy, Spielberg, and the rest of the team to use CGI.
YpdDZ TIL that old timers in Alaskans are known as “sourdoughs.” This is because Experienced miners and other settlers frequently carried a pouch of starter either around their neck or on a belt to keep it active in freezing Alaska winters.
Wd6o TIL that in 2001 a man created and installed a street sign above a highway after getting lost. The sign was left up for more than 8 years because it matched the other signs so perfectly.