› added 5 years ago

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TIL astronaut Wally Schirra would take pictures of his frozen pee as it floated through space, glinting with sunlight. The pee-flakes looked like a beautiful starfield, he said. One astronomer saw a photo & asked what constellation it was, and Schirra said "Jocelyn, that's the constellation Urion."

g6JW TIL that many members of the infamous Japanese research Unit 731, who conducted human experiments on thousands of people in WWII, were granted immunity by the United States and were never convicted once the results of their experiments were handed over.
e0QY6 TIL Pat Morita was originally denied the opportunity to audition for the role of Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid and only got the part because he grew his hair and beard out during a low point in his life and the producers didn't recognize him when he he was accidentally invited for a script reading.
BrALK TIL Disney paid Paramount at least $115M in 2010 to buy the distribution rights of Marvel’s “The Avengers”. As part of the deal, it was Paramount that was shown in the movie’s opening title despite NOT being the one who owned, financed, marketed & distributed the film. It later grossed over $1.5B.
P1QBJ TIL that "The Last Broadcast" a found footage horror movie predating the "Blair Witch Project" was estimated to be made for $1,000 or less and made $4 million at the box office.
kJYl4 TIL in 1971 a radical faction calling itself the Weather Underground claimed credit for a bomb exploding in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.(no injuries, just damages).