› added 2 months ago

7

TIL that Steven Spielberg nearly directed several iconic films — including Three Amigos, Rain Man, Big, and Meet the Parents — before ultimately passing on them

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via reddit.com

9Yrjr TIL platypuses, gila monsters, and cone snails use insulin as venom (and are being studied as sources of diabetes treatments)
N7W68 TIL that even though Canada did not participate in the Vietnam war, some Canadians volunteered to fight alongside the US. 134 of them lost their lives in the war.
MGm7 TIL that Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, considered by some to be a “hidden epidemic”. There are many possible negative effects on your health, and you should take corrective action if necessary to avoid this condition.
Av8o TIL movies prospered without popcorn until the Great Depression, when theater owners scrambled to make up for reduced ticket prices by turning to “audible edibles.” From 1934 to 1940, the nation’s annual popcorn harvest grew from 5 million to 100 million pounds.
pYMle TIL that William E. Boeing bought the Heath Shipyard in Seattle in 1910 and transformed the boatyard into his first airplane factory. Working from a tent hangar, his first plane - the Boeing Model 1 - was built from spruce and canvas by former shipwrights and took flight in 1916.