› added 10 years ago

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TIL Pregnant actress Gene Tierney contracted German measles during a visit to The Hollywood Canteen, her child was born severely disabled. Some time later a woman asking for an autograph said she had broken quarantine to see Tierney at the event. Agatha Christie based a book on the story.

OGAe1 TIL that Bill Murray did not sign a contract while agreeing to play the lead in Lost In Translation. Director Sofia Coppola then proceeded to spend a quarter of the film's budget without knowing if Murray would follow through and expressed relief when he finally showed up.
XgYR TIL that the Earth’s oceans absorb 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released into the atmosphere every year. However, because of the increasing amounts of CO2 into the world’s atmosphere, the world’s oceans are slowly turning acidic.
gMnmL TIL that Benjamin Franklin predicted the time of death of a fellow almanac publisher in his own almanac. When the date came and passed with nothing happening, Franklin published the obituary anyway, and insisted that the still-alive man was actually being impersonated by someone else.
X0jYQ TIL There was a phenomenon called Souperism during the Irish Famine. Schools were set up in which starving children were fed, on the condition of receiving Protestant religious instruction. However those who “took the soup” were often reviled by their peers, and the stigma lasted past the famine.
0wrKR TIL that the condom-based toilets used by male NASA astronauts to pee came in three sizes: "small", "medium", "large". After some leaking events, the sizes were informally changed to "extra large", "immense" and "unbelievable".