› added 9 years ago

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TIL that the ‘Chinese Fire Drill’ was coined when a British officer miscommunicated instructions to his Chines crew, resulting in them pulling water from the starboard side and immediately dumping it on the port side, completely bypassing the 'putting out the fire’ step.

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nerod TIL 'Hollywood Accounting' is a creative accounting process used to hide film profits. Some of the highest grossing films of all time have actually registered 'net loss' and 'no profit' on paper using this process (incl. Return of the Jedi; Forrest Gump; Lord of the Rings Trilogy; Harry Potter)
E1Lnx TIL Actress Cassandra Peterson, best known for her horror character Elvira, was severely burned by boiling water as a child. She underwent 17 skin grafts throughout her childhood, covering over 35% of her body.
D16Gr TIL on 25th January 1996 Billy Bailey was executed by hanging. He is only the third person to be executed in the US by hanging since 1965. The gallows used were dismantled in 2003 as Delaware stopped allowing death row inmates this option of execution
ajBA TIL Kosher salt isn’t necessarily certified as Kosher, but refers to the style of salt (large grains) which was used to make meat Kosher.
Z8bYa TIL that any US aircraft using the code name "FLYNET" indicates that an aircraft is transporting a nuclear emergency team or a disaster control team to the location of a potential or actual nuclear accident or an accident involving chemical agents or hazardous materials. (Section 9-2-6)