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TIL Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of Amélie, was deeply opposed to the musical adaption of his movie, but eventually sold the rights of the film for the piece to donate money to the Mecenat Chirurgie Cardiaque (Cardiac Surgery Patronage), which sponsors operations for needy children around the world

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b6Pm9 TIL the Norwegian government pension fund has over 1.7 trillion US dollars (~325,000 per citizen). This is 1.5% of the world's listed companies, the result of decades of investing oil revenues. Some companies can't be in the portfolio due to ethical concerns, e.g. Lockheed Martin and Philip Morris.
wLoe8 Everybody knows not to shine laser pointers in your eye. They could damage your vision! (Emphasis on could, since your eye’s blink reflex would probably protect your retina.) But what if you were an evil villain determined to make a death ray? How many laser pointers would it take to create a deadly weapon?
wLgGW TIL about the Helicoprion, a Permian era shark that had a buzzsaw for a jaw.
xYN0 TIL that in the 1st episode of 30 Rock, after Jack discusses how he developed the Trivection oven, GE ran an ad during commercial break to make sure the audience knew it was a real product, not something writers made up as a joke for the show.
a8Jlo TIL Electronic Arts tried to launch a NBA video game in 2010, but the demo was so glitchy that they canceled the completed game. They were projected to lose up to $60 million due to the failure.