› added 8 years ago

181

TIL: Today I learned that the d-day invasion was supported by 17 million maps. Each training map used fake names for locations and beach names. The d-day plan was the worlds tightest kept secret.

Read more awesomestories.com

via ift.tt

W7g5B TIL: That Barry Manilow was once a commercial jingle writer. He performed many of the TV jingles that he composed, including State Farm Insurance and Band-Aid. His singing-only credits include commercials for KFC, Pepsi ("all across the nation, it's the Pepsi Generation"), McDonald's and Dr. Pepper.
JPrm TIL: Even as an adult, Christian VII of Denmark remained childish and playful. Diplomats complained that, when he was discussing affairs of state with them, without warning he would slap them violently round the face.
kJO1d TIL I learned about Amorphous Globosus. That animals can be born as a literal ball of organs. It’s thought to be a result of twin pregnancy in which one twin does not have enough room in the womb and is absorbed by the other. It’s unable to survive outside the womb due to a lack of working organs.
8egeb TIL that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was inspired by the rivalry between candymakers Cadbury and Rowntree's during Roald Dahl's childhood. Both sent spies to each other to steal trade secrets and eventually became highly protective of their respective chocolate-making processes.
p8drO TIL that Walt Disney gave his housekeeper, Thelma Pearl Howard, stocks of the company during holidays and birthdays every year, instead of cash. The stocks were valued very little at the time, but by the time she was in her 70s, they were worth $9 million.