› added 4 years ago

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TIL they were called ‘Soap Operas’ in the US initially because most major sponsors were soap manufacturers.

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GAw0j TIL that tanks bear that name because the producers in England were originally told they were to carry water on the battlefield. The name stuck even after they found out they were killing machines.
dD7j7 TIL that the native language of the volcanic island Manam Motu has no words for cardinal directions (North, East, West, South). Instead, it uses polar coördinates—with words meaning “towards the volcano”, ”towards the sea”, “clockwise around the volcano”, and “counterclockwise around the volcano”.
QKLd TIL that Good Will Hunting originally had a gay sex scene in it because Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were sure that no studio executives were actually reading the script. Harvey Weinstein was the only person who said something about the scene.
vraD TIL of “Lisztomania”, fans’ reaction to Franz Liszt in the 1830’s that was similar to fans’ reactions of the Beatles. Fans would often swarm over him fighting for his handkerchief and glasses, some women even saved his coffee in vials.
jmdp TIL: Halle Berry was the first woman to collect her Worst Actress award in person at the Razzie Awards, saying “I want to thank Warner Bros. for casting me in this piece-of-shit, god-awful movie.”