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289

TIL Phyllis Smith from The Office was a NFL cheerleader and burlesque dancer.

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16rE8 TIL: A study on the history of bedbugs found that ancient humans received them intermittently due to nomadic lifestyle and they were considered pest and potion ingredients as cures for snake bites, malaria etc. Bed bugs were introduced to America by Europeans and recently there is a resurgence.
nXPY TIL George Orwell sent a copy of 1984 to his idol, Aldous Huxley. Huxley wrote Orwell a letter, in effect saying, “Good book, but the future will be more like what I wrote in Brave New World, not 1984.”
rX7y TIL Hans Christian Andersen was obsessed with masturbating. The author of The Little Mermaid and The Snow Queen put a mark in his diary every time he masturbated. In spite of this, he died a virgin.
Dd8V TIL The US Air Force seeded clouds to extend the monsoon season over the Ho Chi Minh trail in Vietnam between 1967 and 72. This lead to a 1977 international treaty outlawing weather warfare.
R7YY7 TIL Disney theme parks use various techniques to make standing in long lines bearable, such as building walls around twisting lines, thus keeping people from knowing how long the line actually is, inflating wait times, and making patrons watch holograms that give context to the rides.