› added 6 years ago

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TIL that Tom Cruise's career saved Ray-Bans from extinction. Business was tanking in the 70s, so Ray-Ban signed a product placement deal for 60 films. Risky Business, Top Gun, and Rain Man all had Cruise wearing Wayfarers and Aviators, and sales went through the roof.

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dDpMQ TIL Franz Reichelt, a tailor by trade, convinced the Parisian police to jump from the Eiffel Tower in order to demonstrate a wearable parachute. After partially deploying the parachute he leaped to his death before a crowd of onlookers.
BgXlW TIL: In the 1950s the British Navy invented Water Hockey - played in 2-4 meters of water, with fins, snorkels, and a plastic-coated lead puck. It is currently played in over 20 countries that hold a world championship every other year.
kOb07 TIL the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms made popular by "Monk" (fear of germs, cleaning, repetitive actions, etc) is half or the "Compulsive" side of the disorder. The other side or "Obsessive" side have patients that struggle with unwanted sexual or violent thoughts they can't control.
Bg0kr TIL that the Radio City Rockettes didn’t allow Black dancers in until 1987, claiming that their skin tone would distract from the group’s consistent look.
9YnB6 TIL 99 years ago 4,500 tonnes of a mixture incl. ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded at BASF in Oppau, Germany, killing 500-600 people, injuring 2000 more. The explosion, estimated to have 1–2 kilotonnes TNT equivalent, could still be heard more than 300km away in north-eastern France and Munich.