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TIL the Shar Pei is an ancient dog breed, but its wrinkles are new. In 1978, Guinness named it the rarest dog breed —only 60 in existence! The publicity made demand skyrocket... so breeders mixed in other breeds, resulting in the huge wrinkles. <100 of the original still exist.

9YWlr TIL - That Parkinson's Law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". It is sometimes applied to the growth of bureaucracy in an organization. Further, he defined a "coefficient of inefficiency" with the number of members as the main determining variable
QyN6 TIL when the U.S. Post Office issued the first stamp honoring Elvis in 1993, stamp collectors mailed letters with these stamps to bad addresses to have them marked “Return to Sender”
M7Mva TIL During the 50's and 60's, Dr. Chester M. Southam injected patients and prisoners with cancer cells (HeLa cells) for research without their consent. He was reported and suspended for a year despite a cover up attempt. He later became President of the American Association for Cancer Research.
1Q6O TIL Robert Englund, famous for playing Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” was auditioning for “Apocalypse Now” when he noticed auditions for “Star Wars” across the hall. He thought his friend Mark Hamill was perfect for the role of Luke Skywalker, and he suggested Hamill audition for it.
x6gkb TIL the 1979 Pink Floyd album "The Wall" was inspired by an altercation in Montreal in which Roger Waters spat at a rowdy group of fans near the stage. He was shocked at his own behavior and how fame had changed him, and he began speaking of building a wall between the band and the audience.