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TIL The snow used for the maze in the climactic scene of ‘The Shining’ was made from 900 tons of salt and Styrofoam. The snow was also used for the Hoth scenes in 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back’, which was filmed in the same studio later that year.

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PYoMw TIL Richard Nixon was offered a scholarship to Harvard , but wasn’t able to attend because his family lacked the money for him to travel there and to sustain his Room & Board .
0dQdA TIL about the Empire of Atlantium—a micronation founded in 1981 when teenager George Cruickshank and friends painted a 10 sq-meter patch in his Sydney backyard, declaring independence. Now it has a 0.75 sq-km territory, 3,000 "citizens" from 100 countries, and you can stay at its capital via Airbnb.
b6vXQ TIL in 2011, Indian Finance Minister and other Indian ministers tried to terminate Britain's aid to their booming country but British Officials requested them keep taking the money and that cancelling the programme would cause “grave political embarrassment” to Britain
N76wP TIL that Heat Lightning isn’t an actual type of lightning. It’s the reflection of lightning on clouds from a thunderstorm so distant (and obscured by hills, mountains, curvature of the Earth, etc.) that we can no longer hear the accompanying sound.
a8nrA TIL Queen Elizabeth II is the only currently active military commander who also served in World War II. She remains the Supreme Military Commander for various militaries including UK and Canada. While she has full power to direct the military, she normally delegates.