› added 9 years ago

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TIL The greatest loss of life during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake was not collapsing buildings or floods, but a massive fire tornado that killed over 38,000 in fifteen minutes

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P1Zrw TIL that The Guess Who (best known for the song "American Woman") was originally known as Chad Allan & The Expressions. Their record label credited their first single to "Guess Who?" in a cheap ploy to make consumers think they were a popular British Invasion band hiding their identity.
d88d8 TIL in 1986 the death mask of the Mayan leader Pacal was stolen from a museum in Mexico. Museum officials believed the thieves to be international, professional criminals since security was so intense. A year later the mask was discovered, and the thieves revealed to be veterinary school drop outs.
1MyX TIL that HONDA TADAKATSU was titled “The Warrior who surpassed Death itself” because he never once suffered a significant wound, despite being the veteran of over 100 battles by the end of his life
wLjDY TIL While filming Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg called Robin Williams to do stand up over the phone for 15 minutes everyday to cheer him up. Also, some of Williams material ended up as dialog for his role in Aladdin as the Genie.
K7MQ TIL: Concerned about the censorship of human genitalia on extraterrestrial messages, one MIT researcher recorded & transmitted the sound of a ballerina’s vagina contracting. The transmission was intercepted & cut off by the US Air Force but parts of it managed to reach two stars in 1996 & 1998.