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TIL that Pablo Picasso carried a revolver loaded with blanks, which he would shot at people who asked about the meaning of his paintings.

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awWWN TIL that the first two toys to use electronic sound chips to make noise rather than an analogue recordings, Simon and the Speak & Spell, both got their hardware from graphic calculator maker Texas Instruments
OG9p1 TIL that after getting divorced, Giancarlo Esposito had to declare bankruptcy, and he considered suicide by contract killing to provide insurance money for his children. He was then cast as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad.
ANY4d TIL in 1903 Japan operated "human zoos" of their colonies. These lasted until they mistakenly put a schoolteacher on exhibit who confused spectators by making eloquent speeches & fundraising for his school while wearing traditional dress, embarrassing the organizers
rbVe TIL a muppet obsessed fan once took a radio manager hostage, claiming that he had a bomb, and demanded that the rainbow connection song be played continuously for the next 12 hours.
BrgNb TIL that using a countdown in rocket launches was invented as a dramatic device for a 1920s movie, then later borrowed by NASA for real life launches.