› added 12 years ago

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TIL that Nicholas Cage received an Oscar nomination for his role in Adaptation in 2002 after director Spike Jonze told him to “ignore all of his acting instincts”

PYVLJ TIL that Jurassic Park might have contributed to the overfishing of the toothfish (aka "Chilean sea bass"). The fish was served in the movie and exploded in popularity in restaurants. Correlation isn't causation, but this article outlines several other examples of movie-inspired animal crazes.
PYAdG TIL the Great Pyramid at Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders and the only one still standing today. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus were destroyed. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is still unknown.
KOOlR TIL of the Chichijima incident, during an air raid in late 1944, nine Americans were shot down by the Japanese, 8 of the men were captured, tortured, executed, and five cannibalized. The only American to escape capture was future US president George H. W. Bush, then a 20yo airman.
PYn8g TIL the Nazis ordered 2 Auschwitz prisoners to destroy thousands of inmate mugshot photographs as the camp was evacuated in 1945. The inmates recognized the importance of that evidence and sabotaged the furnace thus saving 38,916 photos.
jKlj TIL that there have been several vigilante groups in recent years, including a man named Rodrigo Duterte that transformed the murder capital of the Philippines to “the most peaceful city in Southeast Asia” by killing multiple drug leaders and traffickers. He was dubbed The Punisher by Time Magazine.