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TIL Stalin imprisoned 200,000 people for telling jokes against the USSR

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pYDJ4 TIL that the US flag is displayed in reverse on merch, clothing and objects (depending on what side they are on) because the stars always need to be facing forward. This is part of the US Flag code.
XEAdr TIL the band Kansas got their record deal by posting signs that said free beer when they knew a producer was coming to their show. They had a huge crowd and the producer thought that if they could draw a crowd like that he should sign them.
jNw9M TIL George Lucas approved of Mel Brooks’ Star Wars parody Spaceballs and signed off on a fair use agreement. The only condition was that no Spaceballs merchandise would be made to compete with Star Wars merchandise. This is why there’s never been any Spaceballs figures, cereal, or flamethrower.
AN6d TIL the world’s most translated book by a living author was written in two weeks.
BrbXL TIL: That a dead fish, if placed in the wake of an object in a stream of water, can "swim" upstream.