› added 4 years ago

154

TIL that the infamous "miserable pile of secrets" line from Castlevania predates the game series, first appearing in Antimémoires by André Malraux

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QNJwa TIL NASA worked with a company to create a material called translucent polycrystalline alumina (TPA). It was intended to protect infrared antennas on heat-seeking missiles. This material would later be used for invisible braces due to its strength and transparency.
yQDOV TIL that the final catalyst of the Thirty Years' War was when two Catholic Counts and their secretary were thrown out of the window ("defenstrated") by the Protestant Count Thurn in Prague. They survived the 3 story (21 m) fall, and the secretary was later given the title of "Baron of Highfall"
ADkGB TIL Richard Benjamin Harrison (The Grandpa from Pawn Stars) was arrested for stealing a vehicle and was given the choice to go prison or join the military, he chose the latter. He ended up serving in the military for 20 years.
9Ypw6 TIL: After the infamous 'Nipplegate' controversy at the 2004 Superbowl halftime show, the FCC received ~540,000 complaints. In Canada, where the Superbowl was also broadcast, only 50 complaints were received.
x6LQ1 TIL that Waikiki Beach in Hawaii is almost entirely artificial. Sand was brought in from Manhattan Beach, CA via barge to Waikiki as early as the 1920s. Sand imports ceased in the 1970s, with sand from about 2000 feet offshore used to replenish now.