› added 4 years ago

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TIL that Jamie Foxx got the stage name of Jamie when he was starting out in doing stand up comedy and found out that female comedians usually got called up first on stage to perform. By choosing a more feminine sounding name, he tricked the promoters into putting him higher in the performing order.

m1wdy TIL about Tuffi the elephant. In 1950 Tuffi the elephant survived a fall from the suspended railway (Schwebebahn) into the river Wupper 12 meters below with just minor injuries. She went on to work in circuses until her death in 1989.
X0ggk TIL A man injected thousands of counterfeit $2 coins into Canada’s banking system by making large deposits into his personal accounts. They are known as "Camel Toe toonies" because fake coins have outsized toes on the polar bear’s right paw
JYdrl TIL a computer algorithm created by Stanford University can identify a human's sexuality based on photographs. If shown five images of any guy, it can predict if he is gay with a 91% accuracy. The “gaydar” program has not been made public.
9wPNG TIL Joseph Christmas, the first white American to explore the Grand Canyon, thought it worthless to visitors, writing, "The region is valueless. After entering there is nothing to do but leave. Ours has been the first and will doubtless be the last party of whites to visit this profitless locality."
KYYZa TIL in July of 2021 a British plane spotter noticed sparks coming off an F-15E Strike Eagle's engine after it took off from RAF Lakenheath. He called the base's switchboard to alert the base and the plane returned safely. The pilot publicly thanked him and gave him his insignia patch.