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TIL about the Contingency Fund for Foreign Intercourse – the earliest known black budget of the USA

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4kgEX TIL: The current estimated time that it would take to free fall to the center of the earth is 38 minutes and 11 seconds.
d8wOE TIL of Vera Lynn, a British pop singer who entertained troops during World War II. In 2017, she released a new album to celebrate her 100th birthday, making her the oldest recording artist in the world and the first centenarian to have an album in the charts.
yLNX TIL movie studios hire a man w/a computer program that will predict a movie’s box office. According to his algorithm, actors make no real difference in earnings EXCEPT Will Smith, Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt who all improve box office numbers.
4XQQo TIL The Way of the Dragon was co-produced, directed, and written by Bruce Lee. With a small budget of $130,000, the film grossed over $130,000,000, or 1000x its budget. For reference, Avengers: Endgame, the highest grossing film of all time, grossed approx. 8x its budget
l70Q5 TIL of the Crank Machine, a 19th Century device used in British prisons to keep prisoners occupied by turning sand within a sealed box. See also: the Penal Treadmill