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TIL that England used to have a tax based on your number of windows. This mostly led to the building of homes with fewer windows (giving rise to the phrase "daylight robbery"), but conversely also led to some of the rich building homes with an intentionally large amount of windows in order to flex.

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jNwWN TIL the Pentagon has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major movies and more than 1,000 TV titles. If there are characters, action or dialogue that the DOD don’t approve of, a film-maker who uses military equipment has to make changes to accommodate the military’s demands.
V8oZ TIL in 1982 a Los Angeles man named Larry Walters used a lawn chair and weather balloons to ascend to 15,000ft above ground. On the way up, he lost both his glasses and his bb gun, which he planned to use to shoot balloons to descend. He caused a 20min power outage, and was fined $1500.
aw1no TIL in 2015 Uzbek farmers were forced to glue the cotton they had harvested back onto the plants to provide a scenic backdrop for the prime minister's visit to the area's famous cotton harvest festival. Much of the cotton had been harvested by forced labor as well.
v1mPj TIL Rick Kosick of Jackass/Wildboyz fame took the iconic photograph on the cover for Deftones' Around the Fur
Z8RRQ TIL that the creator of hot cheetos (Richard Montañez) worked as a janitor at a fitro-lays factory and dropped out at fourth grade. The hot cheeto dust was also a homemade recipe created by Richard Montañez and his wife.