› added 7 years ago

175

TIL a director of the movie 'Airplane!' spent $60,000 on 3 horses over ~4 years for a joke; "All Pink", "Ol Pink", and "Awl Pink". He instructed the jockey not to win, but to run as close to the inside rail as possible so the track announcer would have to call "...and it's All Pink on the inside!"

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ZpmnQ TIL that a production flaw meant CD's manufactured by the UK branch of Philips and Dupont Optical (PDO) between 1988 and 1993 would be able to react with their own paper booklets and be rendered unreadable.
eN0n TIL in 1599, Shakespeare satirically wrote that the governments would eventually make the masses fat because lean men are dangerous, whereas fat men are easier to prevent from revolting and keep entertained.
66bQ TIL “… economists have pointed out that if all the money spent on federal antipoverty programs were given to [the poor], a family of four would have an annual income near $70,000. [They] get less than half the money [given] in their name; most goes to fund the bureaucracies that run the programs.”
0dkMR TIL The Apollo 11 astronauts have a "circular" star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Neil Armstrong and co are recognised by Hollywood not for being the first humans on the moon, but for their "contributions to the television industry". [more in comments]
wp9o TIL the pickled ginger served with most sushi is meant to cleanse your palate between different pieces and can be offensive to the chef if used as a topping.