› added 7 years ago

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TIL that during WW1, French commander Joseph Joffre employed professional car racer Georges Boillot to drive him around the conflict zone at blazing speeds.

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p808O TIL that the movie term "Blockbuster" was coined to describe the length lines of people waiting to see a movie. It was considered a "Blockbuster" if the line extended for multiple blocks.
R7Xv6 TIL about John Atanasoff, who built the first digital computer, but got very little credit because his employer, Iowa State College, never filed the patent application
OGM81 TIL that scallops have up to 200 eyes and that they contain tiny crystals that act like concave mirrors like on the Hubble telescope
XENOR TIL Steven Spielberg used dungeons and dragons to test the compatibility between cast members in E.T. The original Eliot didn't get the part because the other kids didn't like him.
xVj17 TIL the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico burns a 50 foot puppet each year, named Zozobra, to burn away their worries from the previous year. They have done so since 1924.