› added 3 years ago

97

TIL, the name Nickelodeon is derived from an old chain of movie theatres in the United States, having over 8,000 theatres at one point. The name itself comes from the terms: Nickel for 5 cents, and the greek word Odeon, meaning a building for Musical Performances.

Read more historictheatres.org

via reddit.com

b9PQN TIL Johnny Knoxville turned down a spot on SNL. SNL saw a demo tape of his show Jackass and offered him a spot on the show. However, he turned it down "because he wanted to work with his friends and have full control of his work."
9wZlp TIL that in March of 1945, the United States firebombed Tokyo. This killed over 100,000 civilians, more than the bomb dropped in Nagasaki five months later.
jNYlQ TIL The PlayStation 2 is the best selling home console to date selling over 155 million units
woP81 TIL, that after Captain James Cook's death by Hawaiian natives during his third voyage, a theatrical production of his voyage opened in Paris, and later London. The "grand serious pantomimic ballet", set on ‘The Island of O-Why-e in the South Sea’, had little resemblance to any actual event.
5YZOD TIL Australia has a large feral camel population (300k)