› added 7 years ago

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TIL 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' nearly wasn't called 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. In the year leading up to its publication, Orwell vocalised his indecision over what to call his novel before settling on 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. Orwell took a long look at the title 'The Last Man in Europe'.

oRXE TIL Micahel Bay won “The Whore Award” from a website for most product placement in a film.The film was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
grV48 TIL that while working on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast album, music producer Martin Birch was involved in a car accident with a mini-bus carrying nuns, and was left with a repair bill of £666.
7na7 TIL there is a branch in psychology whose purpose is to use scientific understanding and effective interventions to aid to satisfactory normal life rather than merely treating mental illness. It’s called positive psychology.
5YylP TIL that Absinthe, aka The Green Fairy, a spirit once particularly popular within the French artistic community, was widely banned in the early 20th century due to its alleged hallucinatory effects believed due to ingredient thujone. The US ban was lifted in 2007 but the drink must be thujone free.
oBxa8 TIL that Sergeant Stubby, a stray dog found during military training in 1917, served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment in WWI, saving them repeatedly due to his ability to smell mustard gas at a distance. After the war, he became a celebrity, meeting three presidents and traveling around the country.