› added 8 years ago

188

TIL Charlie Chaplin openly pleaded against fascism, war, capitalism, and WMDs in his movies. He was slandered by the FBI & banned from the USA in ‘52. Offered an Honorary Academy award in '72, he hesitantly returned & received a 12-minute standing ovation; the longest in the Academy’s history.

Read more wikipedia.org

via reddit.com

VMb8k TIL that the original Trefoil ("Radioactive") symbol was replaced by a red, more grotesque version including a skull and crossbones (ISO 21482), after 3 people died when they carried and dismantled a Cobalt-60 radiation source, not recognizing the symbol.
pd04 TIL in 1986 a Kansas sheriff rented a camera and VCR from his local video store, filming a 90 minute sex tape with his wife. Upon returning the equipment, he inadvertently left the tape inside the VCR. Soon enough, his whole town had watched and passed around copies of “The Sheriff Rides Again”.
ERbo TIL Christine Jorgensen, a transgender woman, was honored as “Woman of the Year” 62 years before Caitlyn Jenner was
a8Geo TIL In 1855, a Portuguese writer who didn't speak English wrote a book in English full of unintentional errors. The book ended up being famous, with a version prefaced by Mark Twain.
nWLld TIL actor Stephen Baldwin got ‘HM’ tattooed on his left shoulder for ‘Hannah Montana’. He had made a pact with then-teenage Miley Cyrus that he would be able to appear on the show if he got the tattoo. He did not go on to appear on the show and has since said he regrets getting it.