› added 11 years ago

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Today I learned Peter Jackson owns the movie rights to a book series about Dragons in the Napoleonic War

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Q10a TIL the founder of Norton Antivirus purchased, at an auction, love letters written by the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye and returned the letters to the Author out of respect for his privacy.
J1yQ1 TIL to find a pianist during the one-day studio recording session of Tom Jones’ hit single ‘It’s not Unusual’ (also of Carlton Dance fame), his drummer Slade (of AC/DC and The Firm Fame) ran across the street to a coffee house and recruited then-unknown Reginald Dwight (now-well-known as Elton John)
ro80 TIL that the “slipping on a banana peel” trope originated in the late 1800s, when discarded banana peels were considered a serious public hazard
7rQeM TIL Mr. Rogers did an episode on Santa Claus and told kids the truth because he didn't like the idea that there was somebody who snuck into your house in the middle of the night. He received a lot of angry letters from parents.
dDk5j TIL the author of Mary Poppins (Pamela Lyndon Travers) adopted one of two twins and when the twins found out later in life, forbid them from meeting each other. Those twins later died from excessive alcoholism.