› added 6 years ago

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TIL when J. R. R. Tolkien sold the movie rights for Lord of the Rings, he forbade Disney from ever becoming involved ''as long as it was possible to veto anything from or influenced by the Disney studios for all whose works I have a heartfelt loathing''

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KYGMB TIL in 1995, producers for Striptease and G.I. Jane got into a bidding war to see who could get Demi Moore to film first. Striptease won which resulted in Moore being offered 12.5 million dollars which was more money than any other woman in Hollywood had ever been offered at the time.
rNKL4 TIL Plato wrote that a nation should be led by its most curious, benevolent, just, kind, and altruistic individuals. He called them Philosopher Kings. They would spend their entire life preparing for this role. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was said to best exemplify this idea.
dXgd TIL the actor who played Smeagol in the “Lord of the Rings” developed his voice after watching his cat cough up a hairball, then mimicked the sound and added words.
BrpyW TIL a Harvard professor who had worked with Bill Gates called him shortly after he had left to start Microsoft. The professor recalled, "He had moved to Albuquerque... to run a small company writing code for microprocessors, of all things. I remember thinking: 'Such a brilliant kid. What a waste.'"
BgwWD TIL Russia has a museum dedicated to the coldest inhabited place on Earth. Oymyakon, a village in Siberia, is known as the coldest inhabited place, with temperatures reaching -67.7°C (-89.9°F)