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TIL: Before electricity, theatrical groups would heat up calcium oxide, also known as quicklime, for stage lighting. This is where the expression “in the limelight” originates from. People use to literally be in the limelight.

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4kdO5 TIL: That the Nazi rallying call "Sieg Heil" was inspired by American football cheerleading techniques. Imported by his friend Ernst Hanfstaengl, Adolf Hitler was so impressed by the rousing qualities inherent at American sporting events, that he would seek to emulate the atmosphere at his rallies.
p8LZ8 TIL screenwriter Carl Foreman (High Noon) was blacklisted for communist activity. In the face of intense industry all Foreman's colleagues abandoned him expect for Gary Cooper. In gratitude, Foreman gave Cooper first refusal on his future scripts including, The Bridge on the River Kwai.
QgGa TIL In 1957, an explosion occurred at a plutonium plant in the USSR, resulting in the third worst nuclear accident in history. The government kept it secret for 19 years.
yQRow TIL that most of the nazi leadership scored exceptionally high on iq test conducted during the nuremberg trials. With Hermann Göring scoring 138 and Hjalmar Schacht 143.
GAr7G TIL in 1860 that a French man by the name of Antoine de Tounens went to the Araucanía region, proclaimed the Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia, and became its first and only king. The country only lasted 2 years as the Chilean authorities occupied the country and arrested him.