› added 12 years ago

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TIL the Seattle Space Needle’s center of gravity is 5 feet above ground level and it can stand Category 5 hurricane-force winds

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9Ler TIL that one reason whales have become the largest animals ever is because their biggest predator, the 50 ft Megaladon Shark, became extinct at the beginning of the current Ice Age
P17ZZ TIL that an Australian man who lived by a cliff prevented at least 180 suicides in his 45 years of living there, by striking up a conversation with people contemplating suicide and inviting them to his house for tea.
x666b TIL Babe Ruth starred in a film called "Babe Comes Home". It is now considered a lost film, meaning no known copies exist.
b9W8N TIL that during the filming of the Sound of Music, the city of Salzburg refused to allow Nazi flags to be hung off buildings for filming. The director threatened to instead use real newsreel footage of the city enthusiastically greeting Hitler. The city quickly backpedalled and allowed the shot.
P1Y7w TIL that the word ‘alcohol’ originates from the Arabic word Al-kohl (like the eyeliner). Ancient Egyptians made the cosmetic through a process involving heating. During the Middle Ages, the term was adopted in reference to numerous substances produced through similar means, including “alcohol”.