› added 2 months ago

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TIL about "Yellow Journalism" of the late 1800s. Sensational, fabricated headlines/ stories that mostly focused on sex scandals and crimes fueled by the rivalry between Pulitzer’s New York World and Hearst’s New York Journal. They were blamed for America's entry into the Spanish - American war.

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XE8Q8 TIL the modern air conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier not to cool people, but to reduce damaging humidity in a print shop.
vPjBK TIL about Bill Benter, a gambler who wrote an algorithm that helped him win nearly $1 billion on horse races.
YpmKZ TIL A boy dying of an incurable illness wanted to meet Luke Skywalker (in character). His mental state devolved to the point where he did not realise Luke was fictional. Mark Hamill agreed to dress up in character and meet the boy. He spent hours answering questions.
OoeP7 TIL the initial survivors of the Flight 123 crash died from delay in the rescue due to nearby American forces being told to stand down and the rescue party waiting until the next morning to begin the search
loBeV TIL that according to the Monsters Inc DVD commentary track, the sushi restaurant was originally blown up by the CDA. After the events of September 11, Pixar changed the scene to show the restaurant covered in a plasma dome. They managed to pull this off in time for the November 2 release date.