› added 9 years ago

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TIL of Blue Peacock, a 10 kiloton nuclear landmine designed to be installed in the north german plane. The area was too cold for the mine’s electronics to reliably function, so it was proposed to be heated by chickens.

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GPjj TIL The Treaty of Ghent of 1814 once contained a clause that if Britain and Spain were to go to war, the U.S. would be given the rights to “protect” occupy Canada for a period up to 20 years, after which the U.S. could buy it for 50 million if 2/3rd of Canadians voted to stay part of the U.S..
R5vX6 TIL that the violin music in De Beers Diamond commercials from the 90s was created for the commercial and expanded into an orchestral piece and not the other way around
neOXb TIL Anthony Michael Hall was the first choice to play the lead role of Private Joker in "Full Metal Jacket". Hall spent eight months preparing for the role but could not reach an agreement with Stanley Kubrick regarding monetary compensation, and was replaced by Matthew Modine.
JdZ8 TIL That after being mistaken for dead, dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel was shocked to read his obituaries, one of which dubbed him “The Merchant of Death”. He thought to redeem himself by donating his wealth in trust to celebrate life achievements. The Nobel Prize
XElDk TIL Groundhog Day took its repeating time idea from an Oscar Nominated short film starring Kurtwood Smith called 12:01. The writer of the original story almost sued the producers of Groundhog Day but decided against it.