› added 8 years ago

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TIL after being told he could not drink or smoke in front of the King of Saudia Arabia for religious reasons, Winston Churchill said “my religion prescribed an absolute sacred rite smoking cigars and drinking alcohol before, after, and if need be during all meals and the intervals between them.”

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7r18b TIL one reason why Stalingrad was heavily attacked and defended was the propaganda value to the city, based on it bearing the name of the current leader of the Soviet Union at that time. About 2 million died in the Battle of Stalingrad.
89eK TIL: The inventors of Hot Wheels and Barbie were married. Ruth and Elliot Handler co-founded Mattel and also had children named Barbara and Kenneth.
KOkJ4 TIL about Operation Sea-Spray, where in September 1950 a U.S. Navy ship spent a week spraying bacteria into the air about two miles off the northern California coast. The secret project's goal was to determine the susceptibility of a big city like San Francisco to a bioweapon attack.
NJGe TIL Robin Williams was considered for the lead in the horror movie The Shining, but the movie producer Stanley Kubrick cancelled the plan as he deemed him too psychotic for the role.
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.