› added 1 year ago

51

TIL in 1998, a portion of the Titanic's hull was recovered and is now on display in a casino. Visitors are provided with a 'boarding pass' that bears the name of a passenger, and they can learn about the fate of that passenger at the end of the exhibition.

MePx0 TIL this 2 ton acrylic slab was going to be the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Kubrick rejected it and went with the iconic black design instead.
neom7 TIL that expensive prizes at events-- like winning a car for sinking a full-court shot at a basketball game, winning $1,000,000 for a hole-in-one, etc.-- are usually paid for by insurance companies. "Hole-in-one insurance" is an insurance policy that protects against someone winning a huge prize.
a8VY9 TIL Benzodiazepines were originally marketed in the 1960s for the relief of anxiety, stress and insomnia and became very popular with women of the time. The gendered cultural meanings of Valium, a well-known benzodiazepine, was cemented in the 1966 Rolling Stones’ song “Mother’s Little Helper”.
kOoeE TIL that during the battle of Okinawa, a US destroyer was hit by four bombs, six kamikaze attacks, multiple strafing, and still remained afloat. When the captain was asked to abandon ship, he angrily replied "I'll never abandon ship as long as a single gun will fire."
rRyJw TIL Gene Wilder was the one to come-up with idea for the movie "Young Frankenstein", and it would be some time until Mel Brooks began to appreciate Wilder's pitch.