› added 6 years ago

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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.

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epgY5 TIL The Bacterial Flagellum is a naturally occurring motor that spins up to 100,000 rpm with nearly 100% efficiency and can reverse its rotational direction in milliseconds
Y7pRW TIL in ancient China pillows were made out of different materials such as jade, wood, or bamboo. A jade pillow was thought to make one smarter. Hard pillows were also preferred because of this belief. People then also thought soft pillows stole their energy while they were asleep.
EgQNo TIL of the history of bedsheet ghosts, and that English thieves dressed up as them to traumatize their victims.
p8nKZ TIL in 1983 a brain wound cured a 19 year old man of OCD and he became a straight A student and retained the same IQ.
BgZ4r TIL The Dispute between a man and his Ba is an Ancient Egyptian text dating to the Middle Kingdom, presenting a dialogue between a man struggling with the hardships of life and his ba (soul) which dissuades him from committing suicide.