› added 2 years ago

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TIL that the famous author Thomas Pynchon has avoided publicity during his fifty-year career to the point that almost all known photos of him are from the 1950s. However, he voiced himself in two episodes of The Simpsons, where his dialogue consisted entirely of puns on the titles of his books.

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oBGnr TIL that prior to making Finding Nemo, Pixar's in-house art team was required to take Marine Biology, Oceanography, Ichthyology, and Scuba Diving Classes in order to get the look & feel of the characters and their world just right.
R57bl TIL 2-hour marathons were considered physically impossible. In 2017, Nike's "Breaking2" project had the top three long distance runners in the world attempt it. Eliud Kipchoge missed the mark by 25 secs. Two years later, Ineos signed Kipchoge to try again. He ran 1:59:40 officially breaking 2 hours.
4XgdJ TIL in 1988 McDonalds gave out flexi-disc records where group of singers rapped the entire McDonalds menu. If the singers made it to the end without messing up, you had a prize record that won you $1 million.
7r4WX TIL that while serving in the United States Army Elvis Presley was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal. He was also qualified as an expert marksman with multiple weapons.
W7JDB TIL the creator of "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" died in a police standoff after shooting a cop. After he took to random men hostage and barricaded himself, his cousin - Snoop Dogg - tried and failed to talk him down.