› added 7 years ago

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TIL the phrase “The First World War” was used as early as 1918, by a journalist who felt it would not be the last.

Wjbo TIL McDonald’s was originally “McDonald’s Bar-B-Que” until they realized that its main profit came from hamburgers, then they closed the place for 2 months and changed the food they served to just hamburgers, french fries, shakes, soft drinks, and apple pie, and also made the idea of fast food.
QJWlE TIL that Cajun crayfish have invaded Africa. Not only do they have no natural predators there, but they eat so many native species that they are causing an ecological disaster.
8aoeV TIL of xenobots; Synthetic lifeforms designed by AI which are part robot, part organism, the size of a grain of sand and capable of performing tasks such as pushing payloads, cleaning debris, working together in swarms and even reproduce new xenobots
XEGXQ TIL that orange juice was invented by a marketer. The California Grower’s Association had a problem: They were growing more oranges than people could eat. Copywriter Albert Lasker asked, “What else can you do with an orange?” So was created the "Drink An Orange” campaign that changed the world
mxJBE TIL that the first independent full-length film written and directed by Steven Spielberg was called "Firefight," (inspired Close Encounters) made on a budget of $500, which then 16 year old Spielberg borrowed from his father. It was shown at a local cinema one evening and it earned back its cost.