› added 12 years ago

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TIL that when Dean Norris (Hank Schrader) auditioned for Breaking Bad, he thought it was a comedy. This has led to him portraying a deeper version of the character than the writers intended.

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VMrB4 TIL The Barlow lens was invented in the 19th century by Peter Barlow and can increase the magnification of any telescope eyepiece used with them, usually 2 or 3 times
VMwom TIL “&” used to be the 27th character in the alphabet. Originally pronounced ‘and’ the ABC’s ended X,Y,Z and and. To clarify, people would say X,Y,Z, and, by itself, and. Or, incorporating the Latin phrase, X,Y,Z and ‘per se’ and. “And per se and” got contracted to ampersand. *
MmeK TIL Nikola Tesla’s statue in Silicon Valley provides a free wi-fi signal to nearby people.
OZ0a TIL that Coca-Cola had a price of 5¢ for over 70 years (1886-1959) and at one point the company tried to raise the price by asking the U.S. Treasury to issue a 7.5¢ coin.
JlLk TIL the two biggest private prison organizations in the US have clauses in their contracts that require the prisons to stay at least 90% full at all times.