› added 12 years ago

83

TIL Nazi scientists were the first to link smoking with lung cancer

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P1N8n TIL that HMV stands for "His Masters Voice' and is named after a painting of the same name
4kbA6 TIL that it's called "breaking the fourth wall" because TV/stage/movie sets only have three walls so the audience can see in, and the "fourth" wall is imaginary.
Q9Kd TIL that the “O” before an Irish name (ex O'keefe, O'Reilly, etc) means “decendent of”
P187L TIL when the Velvet Underground released their 1967 debut album, it was a flop. Due to it’s content, it was banned from many record stores, and radio stations refused to play it. Magazines also refused to carry ads for the album. Nowadays, it’s regarded as one of the greatest debut albums ever made.
E1xRp TIL Blind Willie Johnson was a blues guitarist who was blinded as a boy, abused by his father, and died penniless from disease after sleeping bundled in wet newspaper in a burnt down house. Carl Sagan preserved his legacy by selecting one of his songs for the Voyager Golden Record in 1977.